The presentation It is the final step in the preparation of any recipe, the step prior to the actual tasting. It plays a key role in the professional kitchen, and we also like to show off a bit at home when we have guests over or cook for the family. A very easy way to elevate a simple fruit plate is by removing little ballswith very attractive results.
Fruit balls such as melon or watermelon, the most popular, were all the rage among refined cuisine in the middle of the last century, and they could not be missing from the most elegant parties and cocktails or those that were intended to demonstrate distinction and a certain luxury, even if it was just walking around the house. Perhaps for a time they passed into that diffuse area of retro old-fashioned art, but we want to vindicate its validity to recover the technique at home.
Presenting the fruit in balls does something else special and appetizing the healthiest dessert or snack, it is a great way to encourage children to eat it, if they are a little reluctant with it, and it also allows you to decorate other desserts, as well as make appetizers and snacks with a more lucid touch.
What utensil do we need?
First of all we need a suitable utensil. We could manage fairly with a teaspoon, but the task is much easier and faster with a scoop, spoon parisienne or emptier. Many models are available today, sometimes as part of sets of other utensils, and they also come with two different sized ends.
Whichever you choose, make sure that it has an ergonomic handle that is easy to grip, and that it is made of a resistant material. The ball scoop itself should be metallic, fine edge and slightly sharp, very resistant to be able to press. If it has a hole in the base of the hemisphere, it will prevent us from taking too much juice in each ball.
3 Claveles – Professional Double Stainless Steel Drainer – Diameters of 22 and 25 cm, black handle
Vogue CF924 Small Double Melon Baller, 20mm and 30mm
How to remove fruit balls easily
First of all, you have to choose the fruit to be hollowed out. The most popular, as we have already mentioned, are the different types of melon and watermelon, since they offer a homogeneous pulp, soft but somewhat firmthat allows to extract the balls well without disassembling or crushing.
Others that lend themselves well to this are papaya, mango, pear, apple, kiwi or pitahaya, even peach and nectarine. It is important to choose specimens that are on point of maturation, so that they are not very hard, but that they have not matured too much either, or they would be too soft and with a lot of juice.
We have to wash, dry and cut the fruit in half, removing the seeds or heart, where appropriate, and placing the fruit on a firm surface, preferably on a good cutting board. Depending on the size of the piece, we will use the largest or smallest ball scoop. We can use the same tool to remove the central seeds of fruits such as melon or papaya.
We do not recommend peeling the fruit, as it will help us hold the piece will be better and it will also be easier to rush the meat to get as many balls as possible.
First we must support the edge of the ball-scoop to press slightly until notice that it gives way cleanly; then all you have to do is press a little more, fully inserting the spoon while turning it, drawing the ball in the pulp, turning the utensil further until it forms a complete sphere, in such a way that we end up with the ball exposed and the spoon totally down, face up, with the ball on it.
There is no more to extract the parisienne taking with us the ball, which we will deposit on a plate, bowl or dish, depending on what we are going to prepare. we will try to continue pushing the maximum of fruit pulp, also taking advantage of the parts in which we cannot get full balls.
The fruit that we have left should not be thrown away, we can always chop it up to eat as it is or take advantage of it to make a smoothie or granita.
How to serve the fruit balls
We can serve the extracted fruit balls as they are, distributed in bowls as if we were serving any chopped piece, or combining different types to prepare a colorful fruit salad. The melon balls with mint yogurt are an easy recipe to adapt to other varieties and that we can flavor with other fresh herbssuch as basil, lavender or a little fresh thyme.
Another way to serve them is in skewers, which we can even lightly grill and glaze with a little honey, and they are also great for making appetizer skewers with cheese, ham, etc. It is also not a bad idea to prepare the fruit like this for add to saladssuch as the watermelon and feta cheese salad, or to crown summer desserts.
Photos | Marco Verch – Galinna in Midjourney – Didriks
In DAP | How to easily cut, peel and serve a melon to fully enjoy the fruit of summer
In DAP | How to easily cut and peel a fresh papaya to enjoy it to the fullest