How to Build a Beautiful Fruit Tray

Putting together a pretty platter of food might be my favorite thing to do in the kitchen. They are perfect for any kind of gathering or holiday, and it is just fun to treat food as art. I wanted to share how to build a beautiful fruit tray, because this can be especially useful in the spring and summer. You still have time to make one for Easter, Mother’s Day, and this would also be great for Memorial Day and summer holidays. I’m including tips to picking out fruit, a few ideas for trays, a link to tutorials about how to cut fruit, and the step-by-step process for assembling a fruit tray.

Dress is from Uniquities. Earrings are by Vivian Drew.

 

I made one for my grandmother’s birthday celebration (round silver tray), and also one for a Mother’s Day blog collaboration recently. Jasmin took the photos of the white fruit platter (she‘s clearly a pro!), and we staged this in Josephine’s beautiful new home.

Which Fruit to Use and How to Pick It

I like to use a variety of textures and color. For this tray I used papaya, cantaloupe, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and dragonfruit. During the summer I would incorporate watermelon and cherries.

When picking out a pineapple, I like to find one that is yellow at the bottom, but not already turning pink. I try to pull out one of the center spiky leaves at the top. If it removes easily, it is a sign that the pineapple is somewhat ripe. If the pineapple is soft and pink at the bottom, it may be over-ripe. If the pineapple is mostly green, I like to leave it out on the counter for a couple days before using it. When the pineapple seems like it is already ripe, I leave it in the refrigerator.

Picking out a cantaloupe is not my area of expertise, but I have found that if you smell one of the ends of it, you can tell if it is a good one. If you smell cantaloupe, that is a good sign. And I find one that isn’t too green or too firm.

With watermelon, you want one with a field spot – the yellowed area.

For kiwi, I like to buy ones that are somewhat squeezable, but not too mushy. If they’re too hard, they won’t taste as good.

Dragonfruit is pink on the outside, but black and white speckled inside. Some dragonfruit is pink and black inside, but the white flesh seems more common. I have found it at the Asian Market in Matthews, Earthfare, and I think some Harris Teeters and Whole Foods carries it.

Platter Ideas

I have used everything from a wooden tray lined with natural brown parchment paper, to a long white oval platter, to a silver tray. Here is another option for a large white tray. You want something with an edge, so that juice from the fruit cannot run off.

Last year I made one on a wooden tray, with a slightly different method, but it worked well, too!

How to Cut Fruit

I have tutorials in an instagram highlight for how to cut melon, pineapple, and kiwi. I promise they will be helpful to watch! It’s easier to explain through a video than for me to type it out. I learned how to do these things in culinary school (and some from Google) and they make cutting fruit much less intimidating. There’s no need to buy overpriced pre-cut fruit if you learn how to do it yourself!

For the papaya, I cut it the same way I cut a melon. I would do watermelon the same way as cantaloupe as well.

With the dragonfruit, I cut the ends off like I would a melon, then stand it up and cut the rest of the skin off. There are no large seeds or pulp, so once you get the skin off, you can dice the fruit. The polka dot look adds such cuteness to the fruit tray!

If I was using cherries, I would leave the stems on.

For some of the strawberries, halve them with the stem still on. Then you can de-stem the rest and cut them into larger chunks or just in half.

I swear by having nice, sharp knives. You really only need 2 staples: a chef’s knife and a paring knife. My in-laws gave me my favorite knives for Christmas a couple of years ago. I use them multiple times a day, and they are still sharp. This is the chef’s knife, and this is the paring knife.

Step-By-Step

I wanted to show you how to build a fruit platter with step-by-step directions.

First, lay the cantaloupe down the middle of the tray. I like to lay it in one direction from one end to the middle of the tray. Then do the same on the other end of the tray, but in the other direction. So you have it facing the middle of the tray from both sides. I am not doing a good job explaining it, but the picture shows it. Then do the same things on either side with the pineapple. Next, add the papaya to the middle.

Second, add the kiwi (sliced and zig zag cut) and the dragonfruit cubes to fill in the white spaces. I like to use odd numbers of slices and pieces. So maybe 7 cubes of dragonfruit and 5 slices of kiwi. I use 3 zig-zagged kiwi halves.

Third, add some berries. I start with the strawberries because they are the largest. I place the strawberries that still have the stems around first, because they are more decorative. Then I add in the rest of the strawberries. I put some of the blackberries down the middle of the cantaloupe, then add some of the blueberries with those. The raspberries are last and I fill those in where another pop of color is needed. Then I would go back and fill in with blueberries.

Fourth, add some garnish! My favorite is edible flowers, like we used for the photoshoot at Josephine’s house. You can order them here! They are so fun, and we ended up using them on the cupcakes, in the drinks, etc. You can also use mint leaves for some fresh garnish.

So there’s how I put together a beautiful fruit tray! If you make one soon, I would love to see a picture! Tag me on instagram so that I can see and share them!