How to Cut Fruits for a Fondue Fountain

Lay a clean cutting board and chef's knife on your work surface. Pour 1/2-cup of lemon juice into a small bowl. Set the juice aside. The flesh on the inside of bananas and apples turns brown when you expose it to oxygen, causing it to look old or spoiled. However, the acid in lemon juice impedes discoloring temporarily. Brushing the bananas and apples with lemon juice, after you cut them, should preserve their appearance throughout the event. Place fruit on your cutting board to trim it for the presentation.

Slice horizontally through the top of a strawberry to remove the leafy tops and a sliver of berry. Cut large strawberries in half vertically. Leave the green tops on the berries, if desired.

Discard damaged blueberries, raspberries or blackberries instead of trimming them, since they are delicate and lose juice quickly. Run a toothpick or short skewer through the top of a berry, out through the bottom. Place two or three berries on each pick or skewer. This minimizes juice loss and makes it easy for guests to dip more than one berry at a time.

Remove the stem from a cherry. Slice around the cherry in a vertical ring, down to the pit. Separate the halves gently with your fingers. Remove the pit with your finger or the tip of the knife. Slide two or three cherry halves onto a toothpick or short skewer.

Peel an orange with your fingers. Remove as much of the bitter, white material from the flesh as you can. Pull the orange apart to separate each segment. Cut each segment in half horizontally.

Peel a banana by hand. Lay the banana on the cutting board. Slice the fruit horizontally into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Place the banana slices on a tray or in a broad container. Dip a pastry brush in the bowl of lemon juice. Brush lemon juice onto each banana slice to prevent browning. Cover the tray or container immediately.

Stand an apple right side up on the cutting board. Slice it in half vertically two times, in an X-pattern, to quarter the apple. Slice each cored segment horizontally into three, equal chunks. Slice 1/4 inch off of the narrow end of the chunk to remove remaining sections of core. Place the apple chunks, skin-side down, on a tray or in a broad container. Dip a pastry brush in the bowl of lemon juice. Brush each apple piece with the juice to prevent browning. Cover the tray or container immediately.