How to Make a Fruit Tray With a Pineapple Boat

Filling pineapple with salad is just one step to creating a boat.

Turn your fruit tray into an eye-catching centerpiece featuring a fruit-filled pineapple boat, complete with a sail. Pineapple boats are a good introduction to fruit carving because creating one does not require special knife skills. Whether you are serving it at a luau or a large gathering, your pineapple boat creation will be sure to draw attention to the fruit tray.

Things You'll Need

• Chef's knife
• Paring knife
• Paper towels
• Bamboo skewer
• Prepared fruit salad or cut fruit
• Serving tray
• Blueberries

Instructions

1. Stand the pineapple on its base and cut one quarter of the pineapple from the side with a chef's knife.

2. Lay the pineapple on its side, and cut out the pineapple flesh from the rind with a paring knife. Leave behind a 1/2-inch shell on all sides and the bottom of the pineapple. Save the pineapple for another use or to add to the fruit tray.

3. Turn the pineapple upside down to drain excess juice from it. Bloat the inside of the boat dry with paper towels.

4. Slice the flesh from the rind of the smaller portion of the pineapple and cut a triangle shape from the rind.

5. Insert one end of a bamboo skewer into the triangle-shaped rind piece through the bottom side and near the opposite corner, like a sail.

6. Push the opposite end of the skewer into the base of the pineapple boat to make the standing sail.

7. Fill the pineapple boat with prepared fruit salad, surrounding and supporting the bamboo skewer mast of the boat.

8. Place the boat on a serving tray and surround the base of the pineapple with a layer of blueberries to resemble a blue water surface.

References

• Lorena Garcia's New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes; Lorena Garcia
• Simple Pleasures of the Kitchen: Recipes, Crafts, and Comforts From the Heart of the Home; Susannah Seton