Carving of vegetables and fruits

Elements of carving from vegetables and fruits are used not only in decorating the table, but also in floristry, in combination with flowers, decorative greens, floral foam. Complex exhibition compositions are multicomponent figures, each detail of which is cut out separately, and then all are fastened together.

A special direction of carving is the creation of decorative containers of vegetables and fruits: vases, baskets, caskets. Most often these spectacular things are not edible, so they can be additionally painted, covered with sequins.
Starting to cut out the "sculptures" of fruits and vegetables, you need to consider several rules for working with this unusual material.
Flowers are better obtained from peppers, tomatoes, radishes, and leaves and cones - from cucumbers and carrots.
If the composition serves not only for decoration, but also complements the dish, it is better to make it out of products combined with it. For salads with the addition of cucumbers and radish, the same vegetables will be an ornament, for fish - lemons and greens, for meat - cucumbers and carrots.
Beets must be soaked in cold water before work, and potatoes - in warm (or hold for several days in a warm room). Watermelons need to be warmed - a very cold watermelon can crack under the knife.
Ready decorations and compositions should be sprayed with water from time to time. Immediately after manufacturing, they are immersed in very cold water to preserve freshness.
To the apples, aubergines and pears do not darken, they are preliminarily lowered into a mixture of water, salt and lemon juice. The knife can also be wetted in a lemon during cutting. Spray should also be acidified water.
In the refrigerator, decorations are stored for up to 24 hours in tightly closed containers.
Carving: learning to do at home
The easiest way to decorate a table is to cut out fruits of different color and size of baskets. The basket of orange peel can be filled with berries or ice cream, and watermelon - with grapes, plums and other small bright fruits. A more intricate version is experimenting with figures of flowers and leaves.