history of fruit carving

Fruit carving

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Ecuadorian carved fruit

Fruit carving is the art of carving fruit, a very common technique in Europe and Asian countries, and particularly popular in Thailand, China and Japan. There are many fruits that can be used in this process; the most popular one that artists use are watermelons, apples, strawberries, pineapples, and cantaloupes.

Contents

• 1 History
  • 1.1 China
  • 1.2 Europe
  • 1.3 Thailand
  • 1.4 Japan
• 2 Overview
• 3 Artists
• 4 Fruit carving today
• 5 See also
• 6 References

History

China

Many believe that fruit carving originated in China during the Tang Dynasty, which lasted from AD 618-906. Fruit carving in China usually features mythological creatures, and animals. Not only is fruit carving used in cultural and traditional ceremonies, but also ordinary households are known for decorating plates with fruit carvings when they have guests over. Specifically, watermelon carving has been and still is very popular in China. Usually, the outside of the melon is carved on and the melon pulp is scraped out of the inside of the melon, so it can be used as a container to put food or flowers in. Chinese fruit carving is used to tell their legends and stories.^[1]

Europe

Fruit carving is included in Matthias Giegher's 1621 work Il Trinciante ("The Carver"), where he describes carving oranges and citrons into abstract patterns, shell-fish, four-legged animals and the Hapsburgs' double-headed eagle, but the art was not common in Europe or North America until the 1980s when several books on the topic were published.^[2]

Thailand

See also: Thai fruit carving

A platter of Thai fruit carvings

Fruit carving is a significant part of Thai cultural heritage. Watermelon carving dates to the 14th century in Thailand during the Sukhothai dynasty. The annual Loi Krathong Festiva occurs each November where people in Thailand float lamps and lanterns down a river to honor water spirits. One legend is that one of the king’s maids decorated her lantern with a watermelon carved with flower designs to impress him and that he was so pleased that he encouraged all Thai women to adopt the practice. The king also requested that fruit carving become part of the primary school curriculum.^[3] Thailand fruit carving features flowers, birds and floral patterns.^[4]

Japan

The Japanese emphasize the presentation of a dish and how the plate aesthetically appeals to others. Fruit carving in Japan is referred to as Mukimono. Mukimono began in ancient Japan in an effort to make dishes more appealing since the food was placed and served on an unglazed pottery plate, which had a rough look to it. Chefs would cover the plate in leaves and would fold them into different designs in order to make the dish look better.^[5]This technique eventually turned into carving fruit that would also be placed on the plates to enhance the appearance of the dish. At first, when this technique came out, vendors on the streets would add carved fruit to their food when customers made a special request, but now it is very common for all Japanese dishes to feature carved fruits. Fruit carving and garnishing is now a significant part of Japanese chef training.^[6]

Overview

A fruit carving on a watermelon in Armenia

The art of fruit carving uses many different tools, usually ordinary items but some specific to just fruit carving. All these tools give the artwork a different texture or help with its design. Some of the tools include:

• Pen: to draw on the carving one wishes to make
• Carving Knife: most commonly used for giving the carving shape
• Peel Zester: this tool is used to create strips and grooves
• Melon Baller: can be used for a variety of fruit to add ball shaped fruit carvings to the display
• U shaped garnish tool: used to cut the outer layer of the fruit. This tool is used for fine detailed work. Many fruit carvers use this tool to create a pedals for a flower shape they are carving.
• V shaped formed cutter: is used in a similar way as the U shaped garnish tool but for larger carving ideas.^[7]

Before carving a fruit, the necessary materials must be gathered. The usual process is to have the tools handy for when they are needed in one's steps towards creating a carving. There are two types of carvings that can be done. The first is Skin Carving, this is when the outer skin of the fruit (or vegetable) is carved to reveal the fleshy center, where the color is different than the outer skin to create a design using the contrast between the outer skin and flesh of the fruit. The second type of carving is Three Dimensional Carving, the purpose of this particular technique of carving is to carve the fruit to into a three dimensional object of the carver’s choice. The most popular three dimensional design is floral objects.^[8] It is easy to over-carve a fruit which leads to loss in nutrition, but it is always important to start off by outlining your carving on the fruit. Depending on the design that is being created it may take very little time or be more complex and use more time and concentration also different steps in the process are used for each design. Not one design is alike. An important aspect of fruit carving is that the fruit you carve must be suitable for the manner which one will display it. Most fruit carvings will need to be refrigerated before they are placed in the specific setting that is desired.^[9][10]

Artists

There are many artists and chefs who are known for their fruit carving skills. Each has a different technique. Many of these chefs have previously owned restaurants and now hold classes in this art.
Valeriano Fatica is an Italian fruit carver, known through his videos on Youtube that has attracted people to his artwork around the world. He has carved many different fruits at a large scale.^[11]
Jimmy Zhang is a fruit carver from China. He has won many awards in the culinary area and has also been featured in many newspapers across the globe for his skills. He teaches classes on how to carve fruit and vegetables and master the skills and learn history about the way China has created its fruit carving industry.^[12]
Carl Franklin Jones, an expert in the art of fruit carving, practices in the United States. He is known for his fruit carving sculpture that was created for Ivanka Trump's wedding. He also holds a catering businesses in Tennessee. Jones was a business owner of many franchises also in Tennessee before starting his catering business. Today Jones travels the world and hosts mentoring programs for young ambitious fruit carving artists and chefs.^[13]

Fruit carving today

Some people perform fruit carving professionally.^[14] Some chefs utilize fruit carving as a culinary technique. Once fruit carvers have mastered the techniques past the intermediate stage and become professionals, they can price their services to restaurants, professional caterers, hotels and resorts. Professional fruit carvers can also create centerpieces and displays for various events, such as parties and wedding receptions. On a smaller scale, fruit carvers can present a dish with decorative garnishing to add an aesthetically pleasing experience to their viewers.^[15]

See also

• Fruit pit carving
• Mukimono – the traditional Japanese art of decorative garnishing
• Vegetable carving

References

1. ^ "The Exquisite Art of Food Carving". cultural-china.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
2. ^ Abramson, Julia (2009). "Vegetable carving: for your eyes only". In Friedland, Susan R. Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2008. Oxford Symposium. pp. 9–18. ISBN 9781903018668. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
3. ^ "History of Carving". The Garnish Guy. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
4. ^ "History". thaicarving.co.uk.
5. ^ "History of Carving". The Garnish Guy. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
6. ^ "Fruit Carving Tutorials — How To Carve Fruits & Vegetables - Temple of Thai". Temple of Thai. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
7. ^ "Fruits carving tools, patterns, knife - Melon baller - Peeler, Zester Tool - v shaped cutter -Paring knife". fruitsinfo.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
8. ^ "Fruit carving, Vegetable carving, Carving knives-tools for sale". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
9. ^ "Thai Fruit & Vegetable Carving - Asian Recipes". asian-recipe.com. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
10. ^ "Fruit Carving Tutorials — How To Carve Fruits & Vegetables - Temple of Thai". Temple of Thai. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
11. ^ "People Are Obsessing Over This Watermelon Carving On Reddit". 20 July 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
12. ^ "Press - Art Chef in the Press". Retrieved 5 December 2015.
13. ^ "Fruit Carving artist". Premier Place Catering. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
14. ^ Dansilp, T.; Freeman, M. (2002). Things Thai. Periplus. p. 51. ISBN 978-962-593-776-2.
15. ^ "Fruit Carving: Seasons Catering & Special Events, Lexington, KY". Retrieved 5 December 2015.

4 Tips to Save Money on the 4 Types of Catering

   

4 Tips to Save Money on the 4 Types of Catering

We often find, particularly with new clients, that catering can be somewhat overwhelming. Whether your company is ordering for a meeting , or you are a newly engaged couple planning your big wedding day, there are ways to simplify your catering and save money doing it. But with literally hundreds of delicious food options, spanning dozens of menus, it can be tough to determine where to start. So we thought we would share some simple but effective ways to help.
A good place to start, is to understand the different types of catering. Each type has a slightly different type of planning, pricing, and ordering procedures. Once you can narrow down to one of these, it will help simply your menu choices, while also saving you time and money on the ordering. Here are the four general types of catering to consider:

Wedding Catering

While we are all familiar with wedding catering we can also agree that catering makes a huge impact on that special day. From the special guests to the bride and groom, you want to makes sure everyone eats (and celebrates) well. Decorations, dinner, dessert and what to drink along are just part of the planning.

Corporate Catering

From small office meetings and trainings to large regional events, the ability to have great food delivered on site saves time & money while allowing you to focus on the more important task at hand, your business! Continental breakfasts, box lunches and buffets are all popular for corporate catering.

Social Event Catering

From birthday and retirement parties to big backyard BBQs, social events cover a wide range of events (and food). Appetizers, bartenders and balloons are just some of what you might see catered at events like these.

Concession Catering

Seasonal, sporting major public events all fall into this category. Where you will find lots of people, you will always find catered food. Planning for these takes a pro to make sure you have all the right menu choices for your audience. Here you will find all the crowd favorites from hot dogs and hamburgers to chili cheese fries and ice cream.
Now that you have your category determined, let’s talk about some ways to save. You have to remember that you are in control of what you order. Sounds simple, right? The reality is with so many choices it’s easy to overlook your budget and end up with more food than you can afford (or can eat!). The following four tips will help your caterer save you time and money when ordering for your event. Keep these in mind as you consider your next order:

1. Know Your Guest Count – the #1 factor of your catering costs is based on how many you are feeding. You would be surprised how many people try to order when they don’t know how many people are coming. Knowing your guest count before you call to get an estimate will help you better budget and eliminate confusing and unnecessary menu changes at the last minute.
2. Decide On Your Delivery Method – most people think catering only comes one way, but a good professional caterer will offer you up to 4 different ways to have your food delivered including:
   • Pick Up: you pick up the food at the caterer’s location. Not as common, but an option to save on your delivery fee or save time on a rush order.
   • Drop Off: One of the most common, particularly for corporate and social events, where the caterer simply delivers the food in disposable containers (foil pans, coffee boxes, etc).
   • Real Display: For buffets and banquets you may consider this option as the caterer will prepare the tables and food serving area including linen, glasses, tableware, etc.
   • Full Service: In addition to the real display, you can also choose to have the food professionally served and even cooked on site!
3. How Do You Want to Enhance Your Event – Think of these like the “optional or upgrade items” you can choose to add to your event. Although this may not seem like much to do with the food, it’s an integral part of the event planning that any professional caterer should offer. Enhancements may include decorations, linen, china, servers, on-site chefs, bartenders, DJ, and more.
4. Know Your Budget Before You Order – Although this is often the first thing you may think about, it’s often the last thing that is figured out. For most caterers, pricing is determined on a dollar/person pricing model. So an easy way to create your budget is just to determine the total amount you want to spend and divide it by the estimated number of people. Having this number to start with will help the caterer get you more for your money!

Remember, professional caterers are part artists and part servants. There is nothing we want more than to provide you amazing food that fits both your event and your budget. The more information we have, the better the job we can do. Or as we like to say: Great Food. Great Service. Stress Free.






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