How to Display a Party Fruit Tray

A tray of fruit can be a perfect table centerpiece for a party or gathering, but only if it is assembled attractively. Fruit trays that are all one color or haphazard as a mixed bowl of fruit not only look bad, but are so unappealing guests may not want to sample the fruit. A beautiful tray will have a centerpiece that grabs

attention, and groups of fruit surrounding the centerpiece in identifiable sections. Arranging a proper fruit tray may take some time to get right, so don't be afraid to remove the fruit and start again.

Instructions

1

Buy a large piece of fruit for the centerpiece of the fruit tray. Pineapples are a common choice, but any large fruit will do.

2

Purchase many pieces of several different types and colors of fruit. Most of the fruit you purchase should be in season, such as melons in the summer, apples in the fall and citrus in the winter. If you are buying fruit a few days before you plan on making the fruit tray, get fruit that is a little under-ripe so it will ripen by the time you serve it.

3

Carve the centerpiece to make it attractive. The only limits here are your skill and imagination, since the more eye-catching the centerpiece is, the better. If you are looking for something simple, cut the fruit in half, hollow it out and fill the cavity with small fruit like blackberries, blueberries or grapes.

4

Carve out balls from the soft flesh of the melons with the melon baller. The balls will create a nice contrast with the rest of the cut fruit. You can choose to make balls out of all your melons or mix some square-cut pieces in as well.

5

Cut the rest of the fruit into bite-sized pieces. This isn't necessary for small fruits like grapes, strawberries and raspberries. The pieces don't have to be exactly the same size, but should be similar in shape.

6

Place the centerpiece in the middle of the platter. Arrange the other fruits around the centerpieces so that each type of fruit is together in a block, and neighboring fruits are of a contrasting color. If you have enough types of fruits that you can give each type it's own area, then it's OK to mix types of fruit together in a block, as long as they are similar in color.

7

Pick one type of fruit that is a different color than most of the other fruit, and place it in between the different sections. This creates a colorful boundary between your fruit sections and helps to separate them. Kiwi works well here, or green grapes, since most of your fruit won't be green.

8

Wash some fig, grape or lemon leaves and place them around the outside of the fruit tray. This will give the tray a consistent boarder.