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.