Cutting up fruit easily

chocolate moose

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 3:43 pm

Without discussing prices or the healthful qualities of each fruit, let's discuss the ease of making a fruit salad. In the past I've bought melons and there have been occasions where the fruit has rotted before I cuold find the time to cut it up.

Lately I"ve jut bought pieces of fruit (apples, pears) and cut them up for myself when I want a snack; now ds wants fruit salad and usually cuts it up but complains "it takes 2 hours to make".

So - what's in your fruit salad, via ease of cutting it up:

Strawberries - I find these the easiest to just dehead and slice.
Melons - after you've gotten inside, I think you have a lot of fruit for the work

Grapes - you only have to destem and snip

Fruits that are more work:
Pineapple, Kiwi, Mangos

Anyone else have ideas ?

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 4:17 pm

Of course it depends on the quantity but I don't think it would take as much as 2 hours to make a fruit salad. Apples & pears are quite easy--just quarter them, cut out the core (peel if wanted) and cut each quarters in a few pieces. Melons are also quite easy--cut in half, scoop up seeds/fuzzy bits inside, cut the skin and outside tough bits, cut in chunks. Kiwis are also easy--peel and cut into chunks. Mangos--peel, slice off fleshy bits off from the stone in the middle.

Other easy fruits to prepare are blueberries and cherries (just wash, rinse). I find the only tricky/time-consuming ones are pineapples (removing those "eyes") and sectioning grapefruits (peel off the skin and white membrane with a knife, use hands to halve and start taking out individual sections).

granolamom

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 10:49 pm

I don't mind cutting pineapple

first cut off the top, then holding the fruit 'standing up' slice it in 4 long strips (each quarter looks like a long triangle). slice off the inner point of the triangle, its fibrous and not fun to eat, then slice off the skin. finally, lay what's left of your triangular striip of pinapple and slice into small triangles (missing one point by now) and done. whole thing takes only a few minutes, quicker than slicing a canteloupe. I don't remove any eyes this way.

not sure if what I wrote is clear but there's got to be a youtube video or something out there.

and for nice mango chunks, slice the fruit almost in half, just missing the stone on each side. score a crisscross pattern inside each half with a knife, turn the peel inside out and your cubes will pop up so you can easily slice them off the peel.

I find kiwi easier to first slice and then peel the strip of skin off each slice. less messy that way.

I hate cutting up watermelon. it makes a mess and I run out of space for it until it gets eaten.

ra_mom

Sun, Feb 21 2010, 11:02 pm

Sometimes I take an apple for a snack: wash, make 4 cuts going from top to bottom, so that you end up with 8 wedges and the core in the middle. Place in a baggie, it looks as if it's still whole, and in less than a minute you have a snack on the go.
Clemintines are really easy to peel on the go.
Bananas are awesome for grabbing as a snack when there is no time to prep.