MMMMM--------------------------TOPPINGS-------------------------------
Cottage cheese
Yogurt
Toasted nuts
Fresh mint leaves
One of the most celebrated items on Moosewood's menu (and one which is
always available, even as the entrees and the seasons of the year
revolve, is the Fresh Fruit Salad Bowl. We use whatever fruits are
reasonable and available; peak-time, of course, is mid-summer.
Here are some cutting methods for making beautiful bite-sized pieces
of common fruits--and for arranging them in such a way as to minimize
brown-ness and mushiness. The best fruit salad is one in which each
piece of fruit retains its individual integrity so don't let them sit
around, cut, too long, and always mix gently.
Oranges & grapefruits:
Use a steel-bladed serrated knife. Cut off the polar ends of skin,
then cut down the sides until all the skin and membrane is off. (If
you just peel it with thumbs and fingers, it will retain the white
kleenex-like stuff under the skin, which looks ugly.)
Using a gentle, sawing motion, cut up the borderline of each section
and out again, releasing the segment of fruit, but leaving the lining
behind. You will end up with a fan-like piece of juice refuse.
Squeeze all the excess juice from this tidbit into the fruit bowl,
and discard the remains. Meanwhile, you will also have ended up with
a bowlful of captivating citrus sections.
Cantaloupes & honeydews:
Use a stainless steel knife or cleaver. Cut off the polar ends, and
shave off the skins, as you did with the citrus fruit. Cut the melon
in half after its skin is off, and scoop out all the seeds. Chop it
into one-inch cubes.
Pineapple:
It's ripe if you can smell it. Again, cut off polar ends and side
skins. Again, use stainless steel. Be sure to cut far enough into the
pineapple to get all the traces of skin off. Better to lose a little
of the goods than to have someone accidentally get a mouthful of
them. Cut the pineapple in half, then in quarters, lengthwise. Cut
the center core-strip off from each quarter. This piece of core is
unpleasantly hard and unchewable. (People shouldn't have to examine
each spoonful of fruit salad before eating it. Fruit salad should
serve to help people forget all their worldly cares.) After removing
skin and core, cut the pineapple into one-inch pieces.
Watermelon:
The seeds of a watermelon grow in line patterns. Take your chunk of
fruit salat-to-be and examine to discover the pattern of seeds. Now,
take a teaspoon handle and stick it into the seedline, pulling it
along to evict the seeds. Some people claim it is impossible to
remove the seeds from a watermelon (and undesirable--i.e., it strips
the melon of its personality)--but I claim it is an act of love to do
this for The Fruit Salad. (If you were just serving a chunk of
watermelon by itself, that would be different.) When seeds are mostly
gone, chop the watermelon into 2-3 inch pieces. Don't make them too
small--they'll disintegrate.
Peaches, plums, & nectarines:
Peel peaches only if absolutely necessary. Cut all of peaches, plums,
and nectarines into moderate-sized slices. Mix in gently.
Apples & pears:
Use only firm apples and pears. Peel only if necessary. Cut into the
salad just before serving, or they'll brown. If there's no citrus in
this particular batch, squeeze a little lemon juice onto the apples
and pears. Without citrus they turn brown and aged before your eyes.
Cherries:
You can pit and halve cherries and put them in the fruit salad, or
leave them whole and put them on top.
continued in part 2
