Apples and PearsAt
dinner, an
apple or
pear is picked up with your hand and placed on your
plate. If you can, peel in a spiral fashion. If this proves too
difficult, place the
fruit on a
dessert plate, halve it, core and cut it into smaller pieces, then eat it with a
fork and a fruit
knife. You can pick up the smaller pieces with your
fingers if the
meal situation is more
informal.
Avocado An
avocado served in its
shell is eaten with a
spoon, and may come with salad dressing in the cavity. If it is sliced on a plate or in a
salad, eat it with a fork.
BananasIf a
banana is served at the dinner
table, peel it, cut it with a knife (a fruit knife if one is available) and eat it with a fork. In all informal situations — picnics, the beach — peel it partway and eat it as a monkey would.
Berries & CherriesGo with the flow. Because there are so many ways to eat these
fruits, you can take your pick. Generally, though, eat
berries with a spoon, whether they have
cream on them or not.
Cherries are eaten by
hand. Spit the pits out discreetly into your tightly cupped hand and deposit them on your
dessert plate.
Grapes Seedless
grapes are no problem: Just eat them one by one. If the grapes do have seeds, place each
grape in your
mouth, chew, swallow the meat and allow any seeds to drop into your almost-closed fist.
To skin a grape easily, hold the
stem end against your mouth, then squeeze the grape between your thumb and forefinger. It will pop — pulp and juice — into your mouth. Leave the skins in your hand to put on your plate.
Strawberries Large
strawberries may be eaten whole, grasped by the stem or dipped in powdered
sugar (from one's own plate). Eat in a couple of bites and leave the stems on your
plate.
If the strawberries are served in cream, use a
spoon.