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Choosing a Platter

o Choose a simple platter with little or no design. Crisp clean colors such as white or black highlight the fruit best.

Choosing Fruit

o Pick firm ripe fruit with a rich aroma.

o Wash and dry all the fruit.

o Crisp apples, such as a Granny Smith, melons, berries, grapes, pineapple, kiwi and apricots or plums are good choices.

o 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.

o 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.

o 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

o Cut apricots and plums into halves or quarters. Being sure to remove the pit.

o Kiwi should be sliced ​​into rounds and peeled.

o All berries should be left whole. Strawberries should retain the green leaves atop each berry.

o 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.

o 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

o Group the fruit in clusters sectioning each individual fruit. This keeps a uniform look to the platter.

o Sprinkle shaved coconut on top of the fruit and garnish the sides of the platter with fresh mint leaves.

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Source by Shauna Hanus