The fabulous fruit slices on the festive table will delight children, they will sincerely appreciate your efforts in serving dishes. Fruit flowers, boats, birds and animals will awaken the appetite and will please even those kids who do not like fruit.
Carving
This word comes from the English carving - "cut" and means artistic cutting of vegetables and fruits. Despite the English name, the very art of beautiful cutting came to us from medieval East Asia, quickly spread and took root in Europe.
Fruit carving for adult dishes differs from children's ones, in plots and some savory additives, for example, adults can afford cherries soaked in cognac. But children's meals can be combined with sweets and real miniature toys.
Any fruit, from seasonal to exotic, is suitable for carving. Of course, the children's diet should only contain fresh and ripe fruits, but if a lot of guests are expected and the hostess is not able to cook everything in one day, some cutting elements can be prepared in advance. They are stored in cold water or a vacuum container, and the rapidly darkening fruit is sprinkled with lemon juice.
Most of the artwork is done with a sharp knife, but for more sophisticated and varied subjects, you can buy carving kits from hardware stores.
Registration rules
Before proceeding with the plot design of the dish, you need to take note of some rules, they can be useful in decorating a children's table.
- To prevent children from getting dirty with sticky juice, it is more convenient to serve fruits on skewers, and put the berries in wafer baskets. If the slicing is done on a platter, dessert forks are provided for it.
- For work, ripe, but dense fruits and berries are selected, the softer the fruit, the worse it will keep its shape.
- The fruits are washed and dried in advance; only a sharp knife is used in the work.
- If berries or pieces of fruit are dipped in liquid gelatin or light sugar fudge, they will acquire a shine and last longer.
- A scattering of pomegranate seeds or lingonberry berries will decorate the slices of sweet light fruits.
- Apples and bananas darken quickly and should be sliced before serving.
Fruit dishes for a children's party
A small selection of plot dishes will help diversify the children's holiday.
Palm trees
The plot of an uninhabited island with palm trees is most often made of exotic fruits, this psychological technique sparks the imagination of children.
A sliced banana fruit serves as the trunk, the top of the tree is formed with green kiwi slices, and the sandy island is laid out with tangerine slices. However, if you swap the tangerines and kiwi, it also turns out well.
Having shown a little more imagination, you can complicate the plot, cut the sun out of the pineapple mug and decorate the palm tree with cherries, imitating its fruits.
Flower vases
A good reception for a children's party, as each child receives an individual treat.
For the preparation of the dish, beautiful multi-colored apples of the same size are selected. The fruit is cut in half. A flower is cut from the half with a tail, and the pulp is removed from the other half and a container for berries is formed. Then the apple is filled with ripe berries, and the flower is “planted” on a skewer.
Dolphins
The grapes are laid out on a plate, imitating the seething water from which dolphins "emerge". Marine animals are easy to make and very cute. To make them, you need to peel the banana in half.
If you cut the tail of the fruit, you get a smiling dolphin's mouth, you just have to make a hole that looks like an eye. The peeled end of the banana is dipped into the grapes.
Such dolphins can be inserted into beautiful glasses and filled to the brim with berries, and as balls, put blueberries in the mouths of animals. Each child will receive their portion of vitamins and sweet pleasure.
Flowers
The flower theme is quite universal, it is loved by both adults and children, it is relevant at any holidays. Flowers can be cut from the hard fruit or made up of small pieces.
Cut the orange into even thin circles, gradually lay out the rose, starting with the large circle and ending with the smallest. A bud is formed in the center and fixed with toothpicks. The leaves are cut from green apples and decorate the bottom of the composition.
To make the fruit salad look more appetizing, it can also be presented in the form of a flower, while using a variety of fruits. In the first row, in the form of a contour on a plate, kiwi are laid out, on them - orange slices, in the next row, beautiful leaves imitate pieces of red and green apples. Among the colorful, beautiful slicing of fruits, an almost monochromatic banana-orange flower is formed, with a cherry in the center of the composition.
Watermelon
Everyone knows that watermelon is a berry. But she is perhaps the only berry from which whole sculptural images can be carved. Everyone can turn on their imagination and come up with something of their own.
To create a boat, a small fruit is cut lengthwise into two halves and peeled from the pulp. With the help of skewers, on both sides, several neat skibki are fixed, imitating the bow and stern of the ship. The sails depict finely carved watermelon rinds worn on skewers.
The boat is beautiful in itself, but if filled with berries, it will turn into an original fruit vase.
Most often, baskets are cut out of watermelons, because it is difficult to imagine a more beautiful carved container for mouth-watering berries. To make a basket, a watermelon is cut in half, but not completely. A handle is formed from the second half. All the pulp is removed. The edges of the basket and the handle can be carved. On the peel of a watermelon, from the outside, with a sharp knife, it is easy to cut drawings or inscriptions (for example, "Happy Birthday!"). The basket, decorated with overhead leaves and berries, looks beautiful. Fruits and berries not only fill the watermelon cavity, but also decorate the handle of the green basket.
Some craftsmen carve such patterns from watermelons, which makes it difficult to believe in their reality. Watermelon masterpieces will first decorate the holiday, and then become a delicious dessert.
Also, a good idea for a children's holiday table would be to create various animals from watermelon fruits. Children will certainly be delighted with such a dish.
Canapes
The so-called "salad on skewers". Each child will receive a whole range of vitamins, fireworks of flavors and will not get their fingers dirty.
Canapes are like children's kebabs, where instead of pieces of meat there are colorful tasty fruits. They are laid out in different ways and always have a cheerful rainbow look.
Hedgehogs
The theme of hedgehogs is always loved by children. How nice it is when these little animals on their needles bring delicious berries. On a plate, you can make a large cute hedgehog from banana and grapes. Or make small figures and place them among the variegated fruit slices.
New Year fruit fillings
New Year's carving is most often represented by Christmas trees. They are simple to make and hold a large number of tidbits.
For the base, a cone is cut out of foam, pieces of various fruits are strung on skewers and placed on a blank. A fruit tree allows imagination to roam, you can make any patterns, or "scatter" fragrant cubes in a chaotic manner. And then the fruit tree becomes a real New Year's decoration, all that remains is to serve it beautifully to the table.
Fruit and candy dessert
Children love both candy and berries. Aerobatics for a children's party is the combination of two favorite desserts. There is nothing easier to string apples or oranges with skewers with marshmallow, marmalade, toffee.
Those who like complex combinations can make a bouquet of numerous fruit pieces and mouth-watering sweets.
Fruit slicing may seem troublesome, but over time you realize how addicting it is. The delighted eyes of children are especially delighted when they see fabulously beautiful desserts.
See below for a master class on creating fruit slices.
