How To Carve Apples And Prevent Them From Browning

I love to carve apples. Apple is a perfect material, pattern carved on its skin has a wonderful contrast. This fruit is always availiable at market, so I often add a carved apple to my arrangements. 

The most popular questions I have ever asked is about preventing apples from browning. Indeed, apples easily get dark. A brown apple spoils overall impression of your display. In this post I will show and explain what I do to keep carved apple fresh.  

Apple carving for fruit displays

These apples were created as fruit plate's decoration. The apples were carved 12 hours before the photos were taken. They were kept in a fridge overnight, and I am sure they will stay in good condition more 5  or 6 hours that they are supposed to be displayed (I have checked that).

Apple carving

Apple carving for fruit display

Green apples and fragipani flowers

How to carve apples and prevent them from turning brown

There are a few tips on carving apples:

1. Do not carve apples deep inside unless you want them getting dark quickly. Beautiful patterns can be done on the contrast between red/green skin and white flesh, whithout deep cuts.

2. To safe the carved parts white treat them with lemon juice. I do the following trick. Dissolve lemon acid crystals in water. Dip the apple in the water each time after carving a number of elements and lines. This makes a carved pattern lasting for hours.

3. Wrap a carved apple in food wrap to avoid oxygen make its business.

4. Keep carved apples in a cold place or in a fridge.

Check out how to spray apple carivngs with lemon juice

Dissolve lemon acid in water

Carve a number of elements

Dip the apple in acid water to treat the white parts

Carve other section of the pattern and dip the apple in acid water again.

Continie carving and dipping.
Your pattern may take a time, so applying acid water to new details
will secure your nice apple centerpiece 

Cover the carved apple witn a food plastic wrap to keep the apple away from air

The apple covered with plastic food wrap should be kept in a cool place

Tools used in this apple carving instruction:
Thai knife
V-knife

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Fruit Kaleidoscope Display

                    

Fruit plating art

 with apple leave garnish, orange roses, 

nectarine garnishes, mandarins, oranges, 

grapes and strawberry.

Fruit Kaleidoscope display

with nectarine garnishes

apple leave garnishes and orang roses

nectarine garnishes

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Watermelon Carving and Vegetable Flowers

The photo shows how I carved an inscription in a small watermelon.

First, I carved the inscription in a green skin.
After peeling, I carved the waves in red flesh of the watermelon.
Then, the roses around the inscription.
And finished the design with the side elements.

The inscription and the waves

 The watermelon was in a small size, so I carved small flowers of daikon and carrot. To get the flowers of the same size, I picked a thin daikon and the most thick carrot. Can you imagine my shopping process? :) I can be a very picky shopper when it comes to carving purpose. I am sure you do the same! 

Flowers carved of carrot and daikon

The complete carving display

Check out more articles:
Miniature Carrot Flowers
Fruit Displays in a shape of Cakes and Towers decorated with vegetable flowers
Watermelon Carving Display With Pumpkin 3D Heart and Roses

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