Fruits Royal Hawaiian: How to make a carved pineapple basket with fruit salad inside (1965)
How to make this carved pineapple basket: Cut fresh pineapple to form a basket; scoop out pineapple and cube. Combine cubes with your choice of other assorted fresh fruits, and enough Kraft mayonnaise to moisten; toss lightly. Serve in pineapple basket.
Making a carved pineapple? Here’s how to cut and serve fresh pineapple (1966)
Fresh pineapple is a truly elegant fruit. The handsome plumed crown atop the mosaic-like base makes it one of our prettiest fruits.
I think it has tremendous possibilities not only as a sprightly-flavored fresh fruit, but also as a decorative accent on the table when the shell is used in its serving. It’s particularly nice for brunch or breakfast tables when there are overnight guests.
There’s a knack to cutting and removing the fruit from the shell. For those who’ve had trouble tackling a fresh pineapple, perhaps these directions will be welcome.
Fresh carved pineapple in the shell
Our suggestion is to serve the fresh pineapple in quarters. With a large sharp knife, cut from the bottom of the fruit right through the crown (leaves) to make two halves. Then cut again, bottom through crown, to make four quarters. Next, remove the fibrous center core with a smaller knife.
Using the same knife or a grapefruit knife, out very close to the rind to loosen the fruit. Leaving it in the shell, out crosswise three or four times and lengthwise once to make bite-size chunks. Arrange the quarters on a serving tray or platter and use cocktail picks or forks to pick up the morsels, or serve a quarter to each person and use dessert forks for eating.
Fresh pineapple wedges with rum
Another way to fix fresh pineapple is a version I got from “The Fireside Cookbook” several years ago. Here again, the fruit is left in the shell.
You can make an attractive fruit platter with these and several other fruit specialties like strawberries, blueberries and green grapes.
Cut a pineapple lengthwise in quarters or, if it is exceptionally large, in six pieces. Do not remove top, but cut through it when dividing the pineapple. With a very sharp knife or grapefruit knife, cut along the underside of the core and around the skin to loosen the fruit. Do not remove the core.
Being careful not to break the core, cut the fruit crosswise in thin slices. With fingers, slide pieces of pineapple out on either side so they alternate, protruding slightly from the shell. Sprinkle with dark rum or kirsch if you like.
Make a pineapple treasure chest salad with mayonnaise from 1960 for a very… unique… centerpiece
