How to cut fancy fruit

Because buying pre-cut fruit is a giant money pit, are we right?

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There’s just something about summer that brings on cravings for endless servings of fruit. Nothing hits the spot on a hot day better than some cold, sweet and hydrating watermelon or pineapple or mango, right? But those all-day fruit grazing habits can put a dent in your bank account after a while — especially if you’re buying it pre-cut. And admit it: You totally are.

Despite the convenience of pre-cut fruit being ready to eat, like, right away, cutting it yourself saves SO much money. So, to help you save some cash without sacrificing your fruit addiction, we compiled a list of how-to videos for cutting all sorts of fruit. And, if you already cut your own fruit, instead of buying it pre-cut, don’t write this post off: These videos may help you cut fruit more effectively, and smarter cuts equals more bang for your buck. Here, you’ll find a whole slew of videos (15 to be exact) that will help you learn to cut your own fruit so you can have ALL the fruit, ALL the time.

How to cut a watermelon
Watermelon can be a daunting fruit to tackle — especially when it’s basically the size of your entire cutting board. Not to fear though: The folks over at Bon Appetit have made a little video to show the exact cuts that need to be made to get perfect cubes every time you hack into a giant watermelon. But if you’re super crunched on time, check out this hack for cutting a watermelon in two minutes.

How to cut a mango
UGH: That’s how I feel about cutting mangos. But I loooove them. Every time I attempt to hack into one, I think, Why haven’t I invested in one of those mango slicers yet? Well, with this helpful video, I don’t need one of those mango slicer things. Turns out, the trick is to peel the skin off and then make cuts around the pit. Watch and learn.

How to cut an orange
So, this video shows you how to literally unravel an orange with only three cuts! It’s way more efficient than peeling it with your hands and you won’t have orange rind lingering under your finger nails all day, which happens to be my least favorite feeling EVER.

How to cut a pineapple
Here, your guide to getting those annoying pokey things out of your juicy pineapple chunks in a jiffy.

How to cut stone fruit
Stone fruits, if you aren’t in the know, are basically all of the pitted fruits like cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines — and as you may know, they can be pretty tricky to cut sometimes. Correction: most of the time. This video shows you how to troubleshoot when a stone fruit is being particularly tricky to slice.

How to cut a melon
Here, trusty Martha Stewart helps us get down in the kitchen by demonstrating how to get perfect cubes of melon in just five super easy steps. You can use these steps to chop up a cantaloupe or honeydew — whatever your melon-y preference may be.

How to cut a grapefruit
No weirdly sharp grapefruit spoon needed here! This video shows you how to hack into a grapefruit in three different ways, depending on the type of slice that you’re looking for.

How to cut an avocado
Apparently, most of us have been shown avocado-cutting lies our entire lives. The standard way to cut an avocado in half is length-wise, from top to bottom, leaving most of the fruit exposed but with the pit still in place. Next time you cut into an avocado with intentions of only eating half, this video suggests cutting the opposite way, to expose less of the meat to oxidation.

How to cut a kiwi
This hack shows you how to remove the skin of a kiwi in one fell swoop of a spoon so it’s ready to be sliced or diced and shoved in your mouth.

How to de-seed a pomegranate
Pomegranates are so sweet and juicy, but trying to get the seeds out of the whole fruit can be an actual train wreck if you’re not sure what you’re doing. This video shows you how to easily get those scrumptious little seeds out without having a total meltdown.

How to cut a papaya
This video shows you how to remove the skin and pebble-y looking seeds to get lovely chunks of papaya in no time at all.

How to cut an apple
Okay, so I’m sure you’ve been cutting your own apples for quite some time now, likely without any major complications. BUT this video might inspire you to trade your tried-and-true apple cutting method in for a more time-efficient way.

How to hull a strawberry
Removing the hull, which is the center part of the strawberry that’s connected to the stem and leaves, can be pretty tricky — small fruits and big knives just don’t always go together that well. This video demonstrates how to use a straw to remove the hull of a strawberry. It’s super quick and easy and the best part? Your fingers are sure to remain unharmed.

How to cut a tomato
Sometimes, for me at least, cutting into a tomato doesn’t go that well — it slips all over the place and I end up squishing it in an effort to keep it in place. In this video, they demonstrate how to cut a tomato four ways — slices for sandwiches and such, wedges for salads, diced for pico de gallo (mmmmmm!) and julienned (which is a fancy cut you’ll probably never use).

How to cut grapes
This trick allows you to cut a whole bunch of grapes at once, which is useful is you’re making fruit salad or a fancy tuna salad. In about 30 seconds flat, you’ll have bite-sized grape pieces to pop in your mouth like candy. Bonus: This trick can be used to cut cherry tomatoes, too.

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Fresh fruit platters and fruit trays don’t have to be boring and lifeless. There are many ways to make them look extraordinary and elicit those “wow” moments! We give you the ultimate fruit platter presentation ideas and how to put them together.

Why You’ll Love This Fruit Platter

If you’re tired of creating fruit platters that look a little boring or if you’re just looking for some inspiration, these fruit platter presentation ideas are just what you need.

There are many ways you can make fancy fruit platters. All you need is a little imagination and understanding of what fruit can cut to make them look super fancy.

I have been making these fruit platters for many years, and they never get old. My friends and family never tire of them, and once you get the hang of these fruit presentation ideas, you’ll be amazed at how many different versions you can make.

There are so many different fruit platter presentation ideas out there, but for the purpose of this specific recipe, I used 3 utensils that I have had in my kitchen for the longest time and definitely my go-to utensils when I’m making decorative fruit platters.

Cookie cutters: Cookie cutters make for the best shape cutters for fruit. I bought myself a small set of cookie cutters in generic shapes but of varying sizes. I also have Christmas themed cookie cutters for when I make Christmas fruit platters.

It is incredible how people are always commenting how cute a piece of fruit is just because it’s been cut into the shape of a heart or star. The kids love the fruit which are in tiny shapes and they tell me they taste better. LOL!

Melon baller: I have a double-ended melon baller of 2 different sizes. And although they are known as melon ballers, I don’t only use them for melons. They can, of course, be used to ball any fruit that may be soft enough.

I tend to use the smaller end more often as it reduces wastage, and also, some fruits are too small to use the big scoop, e.g. dragon fruits and kiwi fruits.

Small sharp knife: Although this may sound like a no-brainer, it is essential to have one small enough to use for the smaller pieces of fruit if you wish to make a certain cut.

Some fruit may be soft, and therefore a very sharp paring knife is vital to ensure you don’t inadvertently squish the fruit because you’re unable to cut through it easily.

How to Cut Kiwi Fruit Fancy?

I’m sure you’ve seen kiwi fruit cut into a floral shape, and this simple fruit platter presentation idea is easy to do and they look so gorgeous. Partly because the black seeds against the green or gold coloured flesh in itself are so pretty.

So, how to cut kiwi? Lay the kiwi fruit lengthways, flat on the chopping board. Using a sharp paring knife, pierce the kiwi at an angle in the middle of the fruit.

When the knife goes through the flesh, ensure it hits the bottom of the chopping board so that you know it’s cut right through. Do the same again, at the same angle about 2 cm apart. Continue this all the way around.

When you have completed one round, turn the knife and cut through in the opposite angle between the 2 initial cuts in the opposite direction. Essentially what you’re doing is creating a zigzag pattern all the way around the kiwi.

Once you have done so, pull the 2 ends apart and you’ll get your kiwi flower!

You can pretty much do this for any fruit. The bigger the fruit, the bigger the knife. Fruit with pits or stones, you can just cut the top end to create the same effect.

How To Use Shape Cutters for Fruit?

This is my favourite part! It’s so much fun, and if you have kids, they’ll really enjoy this process.

There are 2 things to consider when using cookie or shape cutters for fruit. Firstly, ensure the fruit is soft enough for you to push the cookie cutter through. On the other hand, they mustn’t be too soft either, as the small cookie cutters will just turn them into mush.

Secondly, slice the fruit to no more than the height of the cookie cutter. No point cutting the fruit so thick; the cookie cutter can’t reach through!

Quick tip: After using the cookie cutter to cut the desired shape, I use a chopstick to push the fruit out of the shape cutter. Works every time!

There are so many creative ways you can use the shape cutters for fruit to cut fruit decoratively.

Some interesting methods include:

• Cut out different shapes with different fruits.
• Cut out a shape from the fruit and display the fruit with the cut out portion.
• Use the larger cookie cutter to cut out a shape, and then use a smaller cookie cutter to cut out a small shape within it.
• Exchanging fruits. Below you’ll see I cut out a floral shape from the green and gold kiwi fruits and then changed over the cut out fruit. So, the gold kiwi had a green insert and vice versa.

How to Cut A Strawberry?

To make strawberry fancy, you can create strawberry hearts with the shape cutters or fan strawberries. I have been cutting strawberry fans for years and love how it displays on a fresh fruit platter.

This process is easier done on larger strawberries as you’ll be able to see the spread of the slices more distinctively. You can choose to leave the leaves and stems on if you wish.

Hold the top of the strawberry steadily. Using a small, sharp knife, slice the strawberries from one end to another without cutting through to the top.

Essentially, the top end of the fruit remains intact. But you do want to get as close as possible to the top as you can.

When completed, spread them out gently and lay them flat in a fan shape.

How to Remove Piths From Mandarins?

Not all fruit needs to be cut up or de-segmented. Instead, present them as a whole and you’ll get a different shape for the decorative fruit tray. In this instance, for this fruit platter presentation idea, I wanted to present the mandarins as a whole.

To make it presentable, however, I wanted to remove the pith from the mandarin fruit.

Most of the mandarins you find that have their piths removed have been done so using an enzyme. They place the peeled fruit into a bowl or jar of water. Add some of this enzyme, and it eats the pith away so that the segment is completely free of the piths and looks absolutely perfect.

Although it looks spectacular, I’m not entirely comfortable using an enzyme just to make something look pretty.

So, I just do it the old school way, and even though it’s not 100% perfect, I reckon it’s pretty close!

Using a small sharp knife (see, it pays to have a good knife!) I scrape the piths off. I start at the top of the mandarin and gently scrape downwards, and pull off the piths as I go. Even the most stubborn pith give away after a few goes.

Also, scrape from the other end of the mandarin to ensure all sides are covered. Sometimes I have to put the tip of the knife in between the segments to nick off some of the stubborn piths.

No magic method here. Just good old fashioned knife skills.

How To Cut Fruit Decoratively?

There are many ways you can add to a fruit platter presentation idea without using fancy utensils such as shape cutters for fruit.

For some reason, we automatically cut fruit in almost the same way each time. Why do oranges have to be cut in wedges all the time, for example? For this fancy fruit platter, I cut the blood oranges into wheels and wedges so that I would have different shapes and sizes.

This is where a melon baller also comes in handy. If you’re using watermelon, for example, ball some of them, use a cookie cutter for some of it, and you can also leave some of it in wedges as you would typically have them.

Balling fruit is a great way to create a shape you would not usually have for a fruit platter.

Fruit Platter Presentation Ideas with Edible Flowers.

Flowers and fruit go incredibly well together in terms of presenting a fancy fruit platter. Edible flowers are simply gorgeous and they elevate the fruit platter tremendously. Not to mention the colours it adds to it.

Recipe Overview

Flavour/Texture: This is a typical fruit platter in terms of freshness and a great combination of sweet and tart. Depending on the fruit you have selected, some are soft and some are crunchy.

Ease: Each element is not difficult by any means, but as you’re trying many different ways to cut fruit decoratively, it may not be as simple as cutting up fruit as you know it and placing them on a platter.

Time: There are many elements to this fruit presentation idea, so set aside time to put it together. Good preparation at the start will save you a ton of time.

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for fruit platter presentation ideas.

Fruit: For these fruit platter presentation ideas to work, we recommend using mandarin, oranges, gold and green kiwi fruit, blood oranges (you can use regular oranges), passionfruit, blueberries, strawberries, apples, pears, cantaloupe and yellow (or regular) watermelon.

Edible flowers: A truly simple way to elevate an everyday fruit platter to a fancy fruit platter or even a spring savoury salad such as our Herb Salad with Edible Flowers.

Shape cutters for fruit: You can cut all sorts of shapes to suit all different occasions. Grab some Christmas themed cutters for the holidays, ghostly Casper like cutters for Halloween and any shape for themed birthdays like fire trucks, fashion themed and even shapes of fruit.

Type of fruit: There is no right or wrong fruit to use to take advantage of these fruit platter presentation ideas. You can go for a colour theme, Asian fruit only theme, or if you wish to really impress someone, try procuring really fancy fruit to create the fruit platter.

Blood orange alternative: Blood oranges can be substituted with regular oranges.

Yellow watermelon replacement: Yellow watermelon can be substituted with red watermelon.

Cantaloupe substitute: Cantaloupe can be substituted with any other melon, particularly Canary melon and Piel de Sapo melon.

Edible flower substitute: Edible flowers are just an example of what you can add to a fancy fruit platter to elevate it. You can leave them out, add candy, chocolate, decorative sprinkles and even cookies!

Here are some different ways to present your fruit platter.

Instructions

Step by step instructions for these fruit platter presentation ideas.

The first thing we need is a bowl for offcuts. As there will be many parts of the fruit that won’t make it into the fruit platter, we want to save all the leftovers to make a fruit salad or smoothie. Nothing should go to waste!

How To Cut Kiwi for Fruit Platter

Let’s make kiwi flowers with 2 green kiwis and 2 gold kiwis. As mentioned above, lay the kiwi fruit flat on the chopping board. Using a paring knife, pierce the kiwi at an angle right in the middle of the fruit.

When the knife goes through the flesh, ensure it hits the bottom of the chopping board so that you know it’s cut right through. Then, do the same again, at the same angle about 2 cm apart. Continue this all the way around the fruit.

When you have completed one round, turn the knife and cut through in the opposite angle between the 2 initial cuts of the opposite direction. Essentially what you’re doing is creating a zigzag pattern all the way around the fruit.

Once you have done so, pull the 2 ends apart and you’ll get your kiwi flower!

With the remaining kiwi fruit, leave the skin on and cut them into wheels. For some of the wheels, cut out shapes. Then, separate the wheels with the cutout shape and the actual cutout itself.

For the other wheels, cut out a shape from each of the gold and green kiwi fruit. Then exchange the insert so the gold has the green kiwi fruit insert and vice versa. I always get a few giggles when the kids see what I have done.

If you don’t want to leave the skin on and you’re wondering how to cut kiwi, it’s easy. Cut off the ends of the kiwi fruit. Using a peeler, peel off the skin and then slice the kiwi into nice round wheels.

If you have left over kiwi fruit you can make this gorgeous Gold Kiwi Salad with Tangelo Granita.

How to Make Strawberry Fans

For half the strawberries, hold the top of the strawberry steadily. Using a small sharp knife, slice the strawberries from one end to another without cutting through to the top. Essentially, the top end of the fruit remains intact. But you do want to get as close as possible to the top as you can.

When completed, spread them out gently and lay them flat in a fan shape.

For the remaining half of the strawberries, cut them in half or thirds, depending on how big they are, and using a cookie cutter, cut out some shapes. Set those shapes aside. Put the outer part of the fruit into the offcut bowl.

If you bought too many strawberries you can turn them into a savoury salad too. This Summer Strawberry Salad with Bocconcini and Rocket is delicious!

Prepare the Rest of The Fruit

Remove the skin and the melon seeds and discard. Cut the cantaloupe in half, lengthwise. Slice them thinly and set aside.

To remove the pith from the mandarin, use a small sharp knife to scrape the piths off. Start at the top of the mandarin and gently scrape downwards and pull off the piths as you go.

Even the most stubborn piths will give away after a few goes. Also, scrape from the other end of the mandarin to ensure all sides are covered.

Cut one blood orange into wheels and the rest into wedges. If you have extra blood oranges, you can try this Blood Orange Salad Dressing that will go so well so so many greens.

Cut the passion fruit in half.

Thinly slice the apples and pears. Place the slices in a bowl of salted water to stop it from turning brown. Pat dry when you’re ready to use.

For the yellow watermelon, cut it in half. For the first half, use the larger cookie cutter to cut out shapes. For the second half, slice them into large triangles with the rind still on as you usually would.

If you had to get a large yellow watermelon and have extras, you can also create a this Yellow Doll Watermelon Salad with Bocconcini.

How to Assemble the Fresh Fruit Platter

So how do we make this fruit salad platter? The first thing you need is a flat surface. You’ll need a platter that is flat or even a large wooden board.

Start with the watermelon. Place the large yellow watermelon triangles at the bottom of the platter to create the base.

Fill the spaces between the watermelon with the larger fruits such as blood orange wedges, cantaloupe slices, kiwi flowers and passionfruit halves.

Then strategically place all the other fruit around the platter. And by strategically, I mean spread each fruit out evenly. You don’t want one specific fruit clustered in one section.

We want a spread of colours across the board. You can sprinkle the small fruit that has been cut out in shapes along with blueberries on top.

When you’re done, place the platter on the floor. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it will allow you to see it better from top down and work out if the fruits are all placed evenly around the platter, and the colours are spread out.

Once that is done, place the edible flowers in between the fruit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make this fruit platter in advance?

You can make the fruit platter in advance, making it perfect for taking over to a friend’s house for a potluck party or a special occasion.

However, if it’s a warm day, it may need to go in the refrigerator. I know that sometimes there isn’t enough fridge space, so I pack all the fruit up separately and bring it over in a cooler bag and assemble it when it is dessert time.