How to beautifully cut apples for the table: 22 ideas

Creating any dish is like creating a small, unique masterpiece. Even the simplest apple can be sliced ​​so masterfully that your guests will surely think you're a sorceress. So how do you serve these fruits at a holiday table? How can you add a little "homemade magic" to ordinary apple slices? We'll discuss this and more below.

Choosing fruits correctly

Artistic carving of fruits and vegetables is called carving. This art form originated in Thailand and came to Russia along with the basics and dishes of Asian cuisine. Professional carving masters can seemingly transform any fruit into a miniature masterpiece, but beginners with little or no experience should still approach their selection of raw materials more carefully.

The easiest place to start is with apples. Their moderately pliable, medium-dense flesh is perfect for creating interesting decorative elements for cold cuts, salads, first and second courses, desserts, and more. Moreover, apples are among the most affordable fruits for Russian consumers, which is why they feature on almost every holiday table and are widely used in cooking.

But not every apple is suitable for carving patterns and creating fruit figures. If you don't have much carving experience (or none at all), it's best to choose ripe, large, hard apples.

If you want to make your slicing as vibrant and juicy as possible, try creating a composition using different apple varieties. For example, the following varieties pair well together:

• Red Delicious apples are large and red, with shiny, almost glossy skin;
• fruits of the Ginger Gold variety with golden skin;
• Bright and juicy Granny Smith will highlight the composition with its rich green hue.

How to keep the pulp white

One of the most important points that most inexperienced carving masters forget is the vulnerable apple pulp. unable to maintain its snow-white hue for longJust a couple of minutes after making the cut, you'll notice the core beginning to darken. An unsightly brown tint to your fruit slices is unlikely to add charm to your arrangement.

To keep apple flesh white for as long as possible, use a few simple life hacks:

1. You can sprinkle the fruit with freshly squeezed lemon, lime, or orange juice (be careful with the latter, as it can turn the pulp orange).
2. Soak the largest apples in a citrus juice solution. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of citrus juice in a glass of water, then soak the apples in the solution for a few minutes.
3. You can soak fruits in citrus lemonade.
4. A salted solution is good for preserving the natural color of apple flesh. A pinch of salt per liter of water is sufficient. Leave the apples in the solution for five minutes, then remove and rinse under running water.
5. You can use citric or ascorbic acid to preserve the freshness of fruit. Sprinkle the sliced ​​apples with the powder of your choice (or a mixture of both). There's no need to remove the powder from the fruit.

Interesting variations of apple slicing for the holiday table

Tools for creating cuts

Of course, choosing the right fruits and preparing them beforehand is crucial. However, success largely depends on choosing the right tools for creating the figures.

Depending on how exactly you plan to cut the apples, you will choose the knives.

For more complex carving techniques, professionals choose the following types of knives:

• Thai and sickle knives are used by almost all craftsmen as their main tools;
• grooves, complex floral patterns and other intricate designs are best cut with knives with blades of different shapes (from round to rectangular);
• The core and pulp should be removed using special spoons of different sizes.

If you're new to fruit carving, choose a regular table knife for your first piece. Unlike kitchen knives, it's more flexible and easier to work with.

Ideas for beautifully arranging apple slices

Once you've decided on the fruit and tools, you can begin creating masterpieces. If you're overwhelmed by the abundance of ideas, try starting with something relatively simple. Over time, you'll gain the skill and be able to create more complex and intricate designs.

Here are some of the most popular ways to cut apples for the holiday table.

Cut out a rose

Many people think making a rose from an apple is difficult. But in fact, this cutting method is one of the easiest:

1. Select several large, firm fruits without any defects.
2. Cut some of the apples into round slices, each no more than 2 mm thick. Simply cut the remaining fruit in half.
3. Sprinkle the resulting “petals” with lime or lemon juice, and then begin to arrange them on a plate.
4. First, overlap the larger slices (lay one row on top of the other).
5. Place apple halves closer to the center of your rose.
6. Carefully close the bottom of the previous row with the next row.
7. Make the core of your rose from several thin slices rolled into a roll.

Once your dessert is ready, drizzle it with lemon juice again to prevent the slices from browning. Just before serving, dust the rose with powdered sugar. This will make the apple petals velvety and more delicate.

Apple petals

The so-called petal cutting is considered the most versatile of all, since it is beautiful and original in itself and, in addition, is the basis for more complex compositions (for example, turning petals into a star or a magnificent swan).

Cutting petals from apples is easy:

1. Take a large, firm, juicy apple, wash it thoroughly under running water and dry it thoroughly.
2. Cut the fruit along the axis into four equal parts. Remove the seed coreIf you plan to turn the figure into a swan in the future, you will need two quarters.
3. Take a quarter, step back 3 mm from the edges, and begin cutting out five corners (cutting from largest to smallest). Repeat with all quarters.
4. Once all the quarters are cut, begin assembling them into two petals. Insert corners of the appropriate size, one inside the other. Remember to leave 5-7 mm from the edge.
5. Connect the two halves together using the cut edges.

Apple butterfly

How to cut a butterfly out of an apple:

1. To begin, cut a segment from a firm, large fruit that's about a third of its volume. Be sure to include the core and stem when cutting.
2. Remove the entire inner part from the resulting share, leaving only a corner approximately 3–5 mm thick.
3. Cut wings out of the corner and divide the apple stem into two parts, forming antennae.
4. That's it, your butterfly is ready to serve.

Graceful swan

It's not that difficult to create a beautiful swan from apples:

1. Select a firm, large apple of the correct shape.
2. Cut it in half.
3. Cut each half into two more pieces so that you have 4 identical slices.
4. Remove the core.
5. Take one quarter and place it cut-side down, 5 mm from the edge. Now make a 90-degree cut lengthwise. Be careful not to cut all the way through the apple with the knife.
6. Turn the slice over and make a similar cut on the other side. You'll now have a smaller slice. Remove it from your quarter.
7. Repeat this sequence of actions with a new quarter.
8. As a result, you should have four identical pieces (if the apple was large, then perhaps more).
9. Now begin assembling the finished pieces. Take the largest piece and place the second piece on top of it, offsetting it by about 10 mm from the edges of the first.
10. Place the third and fourth pieces exactly as the previous ones, i.e., with an offset. This will be the first wing of the swan.
11. The second wing of the bird is made in the same way.
12. The finished slices should be sprinkled with lemon or lime juice and carefully placed on a plate.
13. From the remaining quarter, cut out a neck (an arched strip 5 mm wide) and insert it between the wings.

The swan's wings are cut using the "petal" technique discussed above, so you can always turn apple petals into an elegant bird or, for example, a spectacular star.

Apple Christmas tree

A Christmas tree carved from apples will be a special delight for both children and adults during the holiday season. It makes a wonderful decoration for a festive Christmas or New Year's table:

1. Gather several large, firm apples (preferably different colors), grapes, a long carrot, and a few toothpicks. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly and dry them thoroughly.
2. Cut the apples into cubes. Each cube should be between 10 and 15 mm thick. Drizzle the slices with lemon juice.
3. Remove the stems from the grapes.
4. Start assembling the base of the future Christmas tree: cut off the bottom of a large apple so that it is stable.
5. Insert toothpicks into the bottom of the carrot and use them to connect it to the apple base. This will be the stem.
6. Now thread the apple cubes and grapes onto toothpicks. Alternate the colors of the fruits to create a vibrant arrangement.
7. Stick the resulting fruit skewers into the base of your tree, and then gradually move up in the same way to the top of the tree trunk.
8. That's it, your fruit tree is ready, you can serve it on the table.

Even the simplest dish can be prepared or presented in a way that rivals the world's most exquisite culinary masterpieces. For example, you can slice an ordinary apple into a flower, a swan, or a star, create a complex composition with it by adding other fruits, and transform it into something amazing and unusual. The key is your imagination and following simple guidelines.