Exotic Fruit Platter

Preparation

Processing some of these exotic fruits can be intimidating, so I’m going to do my best to describe how to do it.

Mango:
A mango has a long, flat pit in the middle of it, so the best way to cut it is to make two cuts on both sides of the pit. The pit is generally a half inch wide at its widest.

Place the mango on your cutting board where it’s “nose” is facing directly upward. This “nose” just looks like a little nub. Now, think of this nub as the center of that half-inch pit. Take your knife, and move it about a quarter inch from the center of the mango, and cut off one side of the mango. You may hit the pit, so if you do, just move it over a little bit more and try again. Repeat with the other side.

The easiest way to remove the skin of the mango is to take a large spoon, and gently work it between the skin and the flesh of the mango. The sharper the edge of the spoon, the easier this process will be. Try to keep the flesh all intact. Once the skin is removed, slice!

The middle of the mango is probably the trickiest. Use a knife to remove the skin from this middle part, and then lay flat on the cutting board. Very carefully, place your knife on an angle, and cut the flesh off the pit by starting in the middle, and moving your knife down at an angle to cut the flesh off the pit. Be very careful, as a mango’s flesh is very slippery. Slippery things and knives can be dangerous. The flesh from the center will look abnormal, so it may be something you don’t want to put on your platter. Freeze it, and use in smoothies!

Dragonfruit:
Using a sharp knife, cut the fruit in half from root to tip. Like the mango, use a large spoon to scoop out the flesh keeping the flesh as in-tact as you can. Slice!

Baby pineapple:
Cut off the top, and cut off the bottom, trying to leave as much flesh on as you can. Then place right side up, and working around the pineapple, cut the skin off in strips, so you’re left with a skinless pineapple.

Big pineapples have very tough cores, so normally you’d cut them out, but the cores on baby pineapples I find to be tender enough to eat. I welcome the change in texture, actually! Cut into slices after the skin is removed.

Stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, pluot):
Some stone fruits are referred to “cling-stone” because the pit clings very tightly to the flesh, and can be hard to remove. The easiest way I’ve found is to make a cut completely around the fruit, from root to tip. Then make another cut about ¼ inch from the initial cut to make a wedge.

With your knife still in the fruit after making the cut, wiggle the blade towards the initial incision, and carefully release it from the pit. Repeat for the remaining fruit. If you get it halfway done with this method, you can also use a paring knife to cut the pit out of the fruit.

Plating:
You can use the baby pineapple top as a centerpiece, then carefully arrange the fruit around the platter, grouping them together. Add the raspberries all around the top of the arranged fruit, then drizzle with maple syrup and thinly sliced mint.