Fruit is an essential part of any great charcuterie board or food table. However, knowing which kinds to avoid is the difference between a successful food platter and a disastrous one.
The worst types of fruit to use on a charcuterie board or food table are overly juicy fruits, sour fruits and mushy fruits. There are other types of fruit, like specific citrus and stone fruits, that should only be used if they are prepared in certain ways and under specific conditions.
Honestly, it can be a little more complicated than just, “avoid these types of fruits”. Most of the fruits on the avoidance list can be used in an alternate form, or with a little creativity. I have explained below why each fruit made the list and how, (if possible), you could use another form of the fruit.
Fruits to avoid
Overly Juicy Fruits
Juicy fruits and food platters do not mix. If you put fruit on your board that has too much liquid and puddles when sitting, the juices will run into the other foods and either flavor the other foods with the juice of that fruit, or saturate them and make them soggy (like crackers). Nobody likes watermelon flavored prosciutto or soggy pineapple soaked crackers. That would be a hosting nightmare.
Pineapples
Pineapples are one of the biggest juicy culprits. When a pineapple is cut up, the rind is discarded, leaving all sides of the fruit exposed. That allows juice to leak out no matter how you place it on a plate.
Pineapples also have a loose fibrous meat that is not good for holding in the juice. That’s why they leak so much juice when they sit.
The loose fibrous meat of the pineapple is very easy to mash or damage and falls apart easily if too ripe, giving your fruit an unappealing and messy look on your board.
The only ways I would recommend using pineapple on a charcuterie board or food table is to either use dehydrated, candies pineapples, or use the fruit to flavor dips and spreads.
Watermelon
Watermelon is another overly juicy fruit. Like pineapples, when the rind of a watermelon is cut off the flesh, large amounts of liquid puddle under the fruit. This can be a disaster for your charcuterie board.
Even if you try to contain the juice by leaving the rind on and cutting the watermelon into wedges, it has such a high level of water concentration, that there is no avoiding the puddle.
If you wanted to use watermelon on a food table, where there is more space for the fruit than a charcuterie board, you could cut up the watermelon and put it in a bowl. Better yet, if you cut the watermelon in half, and carefully remove the flesh from the inside of the watermelon, without damaging the rind, you could use the rind as it’s own bowl. That would make a beautiful artistic piece for your table.
Canteloupe, Honeydew and Other Less Juicy Melons
Canteloupe, honeydew and other melon varieties are wild cards when it comes to juiciness. Sometimes you will get one that is really soft and juicy. Other times you will get one that is dry and firm.
So why not use a melon that is dry and firm? Problem solved right? Well not exactly.
You have to remember that flavor is of upmost importance when deciding what foods to choose for your board.
Melons are not sweet until they are soft and juicy. What good is a dry, firm melon if it has no flavor?
If you really want to use a melon, then put it in its own dedicated container to contain the liquid. Otherwise, opt for a drier fruit.
Sour Fruits
Fruits that make you pucker up should not be used for charcuterie boards or food tables. They do not pair well with any meats or cheeses and will leave your guests with a disappointed pallet.
Lemons and Limes
Although lemons and limes are great for garnishes, they are not pleasant to eat on their own. Have you ever seen a baby unsuspectingly eat a lemon slice? It is sadly hilarious. Unless you plan on using your guests for entertainment, I would avoid sour citrus. It’s best so save them to flavor your drinks.
The only way I would recommend using lemons and limes is to use them for decoration. You could place them, uncut around your food table, for a pop of color. You wouldn’t have room on a charcuterie board for this, but you would on a grazing table or food table.
Mushy Fruits
Any fruit that does not have a firm texture and can easily be mashed is a mushy fruit. There are only a few.
Bananas
Bananas need no explanation about their mushiness. They are also colorless, sticky and they brown extremely quickly, to name a few other reasons to avoid them.
If you were intent on using bananas, you could use them to flavor a fruit dip, just make sure your treat them for browning first.
You could also try dehydrated bananas, but I don’t think they add much pizzaz to your charcuterie board.
I’d highly recommend that each fruit you pick popped on your board. You don’t have alot of room on charcuterie boards, so you want each food choice to make a big impact on their own.
You could also place whole, unpeeled bananas around a grazing table, if someone wanted to eat one whole.
Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits, like mangoes, papayas and kiwi, though they are incredibly delicious, can be very mushy when ripe. The outer skin is very thin and soft and provides no stability to the cut fruit.
Like melons, if tropical fruit is firm and easy to cut, it is usually not quite ripe and can be unpleasant to eat. That is why I would avoid fresh tropical fruits.
Go for the dehydrated versions instead. Dehydrated mangoes are absolutely delicious. My absolute favorite snack in the whole world is dehydrated mangoes with chili and lime powder.
Conditional Fruits
What are conditional fruits? Conditional fruits are fruits that would normally belong on the “Fruits to Avoid” list, but under certain circumstances and if prepared in specific ways, they can still be usable on charcuterie boards or food tables.
Oranges and Grapefruits
Typically, the sweeter varieties of citrus would be included in the list of fruits to avoid because of their high liquid content and loose fleshy texture. However, if prepared properly, they could be a possibility for a food table.
Caution: I would not use fresh oranges, tangerines or grapefruit on a charcuterie board, even if prepared the right way. There just isn’t enough room on your board to include them in the size that they need to be cut into.
I’m sure someone is asking right now, “Why can’t you just peel oranges or tangerines and leave the protective skin around each slice?”
In theory, that would work, but a huge element of charcuterie boards and grazing tables is the visual factor. Peeled citrus slices, covered with their natural white, semi-transparent skin are not visually appealing. Therefore, they are not recommended peeled.
Some of the most beautiful grazing tables have grapefruit and oranges on them, but if you notice, they are sliced, with the peel still on them. Keeping the peel on citrus is critical for stability as well as to contain the juice.
Grapefruit are usually cut in half (with the peel still on) and placed randomly around a grazing table. Whether or not anyone actually eats them, or if they are just there for visual appeal is up for debate.
If you do choose to include grapefruit halves, make sure your guests have salt and sugar available to put on top. (I love my grapefruit with salt)
Oranges can either be sliced all the way through, making thin circular slices, or cut into wedges. But like the grapefruit, keep the peel on.
Peaches, Plums and Nectarines
I include stone fruit like peaches, plums and nectarines on the conditional fruit list because if you cut them when they are firm, they can still be used. The problem with that is, when these types of fruit are firm, it is because they are not fully ripe and may be bland or worse yet, sour.
These types of stone fruit are unpredictable in my opinion because sometimes they are still ok to eat when they are firm and sometimes they are not pleasant at all. In fact, my kids prefer all three of these fruits firm, but I prefer them soft. So it’s a matter of preference.
On the down side, as soon as they get the slightest bit of softness, then they move to the avoidance list because their texture becomes too mushy. They won’t hold up well on your board or table.
If you do choose to use a firm form of stone fruit, I would advise tasting one slice from each piece of fruit to check for flavor before using.
In all honesty, peaches, plums and nectarines are not usually used on charcuterie boards or grazing tables. If they are used, most people will use the dehydrated form. But even these are not used very often since there are so many other great choices of fruit to pick from.
I hope this list helped you know which fruits to avoid next time you put together a charcuterie board or food table.
Are there any other fruits that you avoid? Why? Leave your comments below.