#fruit-selection

#fruit-selection

Charcuterie arrangements always spark drama whenever they come up. Everyone has a cheese brand that they're insistent is "must-have," while also dwelling on the precise thickness of meat slices and the specific type of cracker. However, there's one thing that can unite every enthusiast in horror at the mere thought of appearing on a board: juicy fruits, like watermelon. They have good reasons to be scared - these moist foods can spell doom for a good charcuterie board the moment you put them on.

They're not the most common fruit in American kitchens, but they've been cultivated for centuries, as far back as the Bronze Age, across the Middle East and Mediterranean, celebrated for both their beauty and their tart-sweet flavor, and associated with myth and cultural identity.

"I pre-batch sangria all the time ... BUT I leave out the fruit until serving," Henderson says. "Citrus will turn the sangria super bitter, thanks to the pith. Berries, if using, will get mushy and gross. And orchard fruits will turn brown and mealy." The fridge will preserve the freshness of the fruit juices, so Henderson recommends "mix[ing] your wine and spirit and even the juice up to a day before, but add the fruit last minute."

To determine the best cantaloupe, look for a slipped melon, which naturally falls from the vine at peak ripeness, as opposed to a clipped melon that has been picked early.

Choosing great fruit is more than luck, it's a sensory practice. Successful shoppers engage all five senses, not just sight, to select quality fruit. A gentle squeeze can reveal ripeness, while a sweet aroma indicates freshness.

When it comes to picking limes, don’t just grab the first bag you see; take a moment to examine them for quality and ripeness.

Look for shades of yellow... The more yellow it is, the riper the fruit is. If the shell is totally green, it's not ripe at all.