How to Prepare Strawberry Garnishes for Dinner Parties

You can make strawberry garnishes in less than a minute to add flair to your desserts, fruit trays or centerpieces at your next dinner party. If you enlist the help of a friend, you can prepare enough strawberry garnishes to serve a la carte, so each dinner guest can enjoy several succulent berries in the shape of a fan.

Things You'll Need

• Paring knife

Instructions

1. Wash the strawberries the day of your dinner party. Strawberries spoil quickly when they get wet, so keep them dry until you're ready to prepare garnishes.

2. Hold the strawberry sideways, so that the stem faces toward your palm and the point of the berry faces the knife. Lay the side of your hand and the side of the strawberry on a cutting board.

3. Decide whether you want to prepare the strawberry garnishes with the stems on or off. If the primary function of the garnish is decorative, leave the stems on. If the guests will consume multiple berries, remove the stems for their convenience.

4. Use the tip of a paring knife to slice through the lower 3/4 of the strawberry. You must not slice completely through the berry, or the cuts will yield regular strawberry slices rather than garnishes.

5. Grasp the outer two slices of the strawberry, and gently torque the ends in opposite directions to create a fan. Be careful not to tear the fan asunder, for only a small margin of fruit holds the finished garnish together.

Tips & Warnings

• Strawberry garnishes accent chocolate dishes well. You can make a tray of brownies from the grocery store bakery look special by cutting them, stacking them artfully and arranging strawberry fans across the brownies and around the platter.