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).
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| Apple carving |
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| Apple carving for fruit display |
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| 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
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| Dissolve lemon acid in water |
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| Carve a number of elements |
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| Dip the apple in acid water to treat the white parts |
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| Carve other section of the pattern and dip the apple in acid water again. |
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| Continie carving and dipping. Your pattern may take a time, so applying acid water to new details will secure your nice apple centerpiece |
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| Cover the carved apple witn a food plastic wrap to keep the apple away from air |
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| The apple covered with plastic food wrap should be kept in a cool place |
Great post, I get that question a lot too and just use lemon juice and water. I have never used 'lemon acid crystals' but you seem to have even less browning with this method, I will have to try this ... thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete@Chef Linny, Hi Linda, I found the lemon acid method more practical and saving. I used to brush and spay apple with acid water, and after all I got that dipping works much better.
ReplyDeleteSelena, thank you for the instructions on keeping apples fresh and white. I've used lemon juice and water, like Chef Linny, but never for a long period of time. Now I know there is a way to keep them looking fresh and crisp, even overnight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing though I'm not a carver.
DeleteSelena thank you for sharing though I'm not a carver.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this, Apple is a beautiful fruit for carving, now I can store it for a longer time
ReplyDeleteHi Farida, thanks for leaving the comment. I hope you will have beautiful and fresh apple carving displays with a help of the tips. Happy carving!
ReplyDeletei made only swan out of apple and these beautiful apple carvings are fabulous thanks for sharing with us and thanks for the tip of lemon juice ..
ReplyDeleteI have an event and want to know where I can get some carved apples for the food table. I'm in the Washington DC area
ReplyDeleteIs it safe to eat after the treatment?
ReplyDelete