MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Most Beautiful Fruit Salad
 Categories: Salads, Fruit salad
      Yield: 1 Bowl
 
MMMMM---------------------------FRUIT--------------------------------
           Oranges & grapefruits
           Cantaloupes & honeydews
           Pineapple
           Watermelon
           Peaches; plums, & nectarines
           Apples & pears
           Cherries
           Bananas
           Berries
           Raisins & dried fruits

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 entrées 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
 
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