Serving Guide for a Fruit Platter

Choosing a Platter

*	Choose a simple platter with little or no design. Crisp clean
colors such as white or black highlight the fruit best. 

 Choosing Fruit

*	Pick firm ripe fruit with a rich aroma.

 *	Wash and dry all the fruit.

 *	Crisp apples, such as a Granny Smith, melons, berries,
grapes, pineapple, kiwi and apricots or plums are good choices.

 *	Stay away from soft apples, such as a Fuji, bananas, pears
and peaches. All these fruits discolor quickly and do not make
for a good choice for a fruit platter.

 *	Buy berries a day ahead of time, they ripen quickly and can
spoil before use if they sit in the refrigerator for too many
days.

 *	Pineapple and melon should be purchased three days ahead of
time. This allows them to ripen to there peak flavor before
serving.



Preparing the Fruit

*	Cut apricots and plums into halves or quarters. Being sure to
remove the pit.

 *	Kiwi should be sliced into rounds and peeled.

 *	All berries should be left whole. Strawberries should retain
the green leaves atop each berry.

 *	Apples should be cored and cut into wedges. To help prevent
the apples from browning dip each apple wedge into a mixture of
4 cups water to 3 tablespoons lemon juice.

 *	Cluster grapes in groups of 7 to 8 grapes on each stem. This
allows guests to pick up a cluster and easily transfer it to a
plate.



Serving the Platter

*	Group the fruit in clusters sectioning each individual fruit.
This keeps a uniformed look to the platter.

 *	Sprinkle shaved coconut on top of the fruit and garnish the
sides of the platter with fresh mint leaves.