Melon Slice

Melon slices are a food item added in 1.8.

Melon slices are acquired by destroying Melons, each dropping 3-7 slices. Each one gives you one food point, however, each Melon Block destroyed yields up to 7 melon slices, and grow fairly quickly. Also, since it only restores one hunger point, it is almost never wasted. Melon slices stack up to 64, and can be used to craft either more seeds, or a Melon Block. As you can obtain many seeds very quickly, farming melons is by far the most reliable source of food. There is one undesirable aspect. Slices only heal one of the hunger meter, meaning to get the same amount of hunger as 5 Cooked Chicken, you would need to carry 15, making it take up more space than other foods.

Advantages

 * Melons waste far less hunger than bread and especially meat.
 * One block of melons grows quickly and gives 3-7 hunger, while 3 wheat blocks (1 bread) heal 2.5 hunger.
 * A stack of melon blocks heals more than a stack of bread.
 * Once fully grown, melons spawn almost as fast as wheat takes to grow one stage.

Disadvantages

 * Melon seeds are only found in Abandoned Mineshafts, so by the time you find them, you likely have a steady food source.
 * A stack of melon slices doesn't heal as much as a stack of bread or meat.
 * Making a melon block wastes 2-6 melon slices, and must be placed and broken to be eaten.
 * When the melon grows, the farmland under the melon reverts to Dirt, which must be retilled.