You can make an interesting and edible fruit centerpiece with a pineapple base covered in bite-sized fruit. This centerpiece resembles the crown of a pineapple by design, but the fruit-covered skewers are festive, colorful and delicious. For convenience, you can prepare the fruit a day ahead of when you plan to make the centerpiece. Prepare extra fruit skewers so you can replenish the ones your guests eat.
Instructions
1. Peel and cut the cantaloupe, honeydew melon and one of the pineapples into small, bite-sized chunks and refrigerate.
2. Wash the strawberries, grapes and cherries. Remove the individual grapes from the stems. Leave the greenery on the strawberries and the stems on the cherries.
3. Skewer the cut and cleaned fruit onto the 10-inch skewers. Insert the skewers straight through the center of the fruit pieces, alternating the different types of fruit along the skewer. Leave three inches of open skewer at the pointed tip so you can insert the fruit skewer into the sides of the pineapple. Leave enough room open at the top of the skewer so you can insert a strawberry or a cherry over the end for a more finished look. Plan to use between 15 and 20 fruit skewers at a time, depending on the size of your whole pineapple.
4. Insert the fruit skewers into the whole pineapple. Stand the pineapple upright and begin inserting the fruit skewers around the base at an angle. Leave two inches between each skewer and make a row around the pineapple. To begin working your way up the pineapple, insert fruit skewers between each of the skewers on the first row, about 1/2-inch higher on the sides of the pineapple. Continue to insert the skewers in rows between the skewers on the previous row, gradually working your way up the pineapple until it is covered.
5. Pick up the covered pineapple by its crown and place it on the table as an edible centerpiece. As your guests take the fruit skewers, replace them on the pineapple.
Tags: fruit skewers, between each, insert fruit, open skewer, sides pineapple