Preparing Fruit
Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a small dip table,
as they day, and man does not live by chips alone. To
experience the full spectrum of dipping, one must savor
the particular pleasure of cooping a mouthful of
cheesecake dip on a slice of melon or plunging a
strawberry into chocolate dipping sauce.
As with veggies, you can let your imagination run
amok, using the following suggestions merely as points of
departure. Here too, always wash fruit carefully, dry,
and chill. Use firm fruit. Some, as indicated below,
should be dunked in an acid bat, which will keep the fruit
from turning brown. To make the acid bath, just add 2
tsps of lemon juice to 2 cups of water. After dunking
fruit in the bath, drain on paper towels.
APPLES: Peel, if desired, core and cut into wedges.
Requires the acid bath treatment.
APRICOTS: Remove the pits and quarter. Requires the acid
bath treatment.
BANANAS: Use firm bananas, free of bruises. Just peel
and cut on the diagonal into wedges. Requires the acid
bath treatment.
COCONUTS: Remove the outer shell and reserve the milk for
other uses, if desired, and cut the coconut meat into
dipping strip sizes or chunks. Rinse with cold water.
FIGS: Remove the stem end and quarter.
GRAPEFRUIT: Remove the peel, then break into segments.
Carefully remove the seeds and white pith.
GUAVA: Remove the skin. Cut into wedges and carefully
remove the seeds.
KIWIS: Remove the skin from firm kiwis and quarter or cut
into circles.
MANGOES: Remove the skin. Cut top half of the fruit away
from the large oval pit. Turn over and cut away the
balance of the fruit, and discard the pit. Cut the fruit
into wedges across the grain.
MELONS: Cantaloupe, crenshaw and casaba melons, like most
fruit, complement sweeter dips, while honeydews are a good
accompaniment to salter or spicier dips. In any case, cut
off the outer skin, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and
cut the pulp into dipping size slices, chunks, or wedges.
NECTARINES: Pit and quarter. Requires the acid bath
treatment.
ORANGES: Peel and separate into individual segments.
Carefully remove the seeds.
PAPAYAS: Use ripe papayas. Remove the rind, cut in half
and scoop out the seeds. Cut into thin strips.
PEACHES: Remove the pit and cut into wedges. Requires
the acid bath treatment.
PEARAPPLES: Remove the core and cut into slices or
wedges. Requires the acid bath treatment.
PEARS: Peel, if desired, core and cut into dipping size
chunks. Requires the acid bath treatment.
PINEAPPLES: Remove the outer skin, cut out the eyes and
remove the center core, if desired. Cut into chunks or
spears.
PLUMS: Cut in half, pit, and quarter firm plums.
PRICKLY PEARS OR CACTUS PEARS: Using a fork to hold the
fruit in place, remove the rind and cut into slices or
wedges.
STAR FRUIT OR CARAMBOLA: White or sweet yellow varieties.
Cut the fruit horizontally into stars.
STRAWBERRIES: Serve whole.
TANGERINES: Peel and separate into individual segments.
Carefully remove the seeds.
Dried fruits not to be overlooked include apples,
apricots, banana chips, pitted dates, figs, pears, and
pineapples.