By REESE AMOROSI
A quick and easy tutorial on how to cut fresh strawberries into heart shapes to use as garnish for desserts, beverages, smoothie bowls, salads, cheese plates and more.
For me, fresh fruit is always an excellent garnish choice. I especially like finding ways to make it truly stand out and add to the visual appeal of a beverage, dessert or dish. One of my favorite fun garnish tips is this easy-peasy way to cut strawberries into hearts. These elegant berry hearts are, of course, perfect for Valentine’s Day and anniversary meals, but I use them to garnish meals year-round. They are charming and easy to cut, so why not?
- Start with the freshest, most beautiful ripe strawberries you can find. Wash and dry the strawberries.
- Hull the strawberries (remove the leaves and stems) by cutting a V-shape into the top.
- Leave the fruits whole (make a tiny cut in the tip and they are nice for decorating the rims of beverages), or cut them half to make two hearts from each strawberry. They are usually fine as-is, but sometimes you need to trim or cut away tiny bits here and there to fine-tune the heart shape.
- Add the strawberry hearts to desserts, beverages, smoothies and smoothie bowls, salads, cheese plates, etc.
- Be sure to use the strawberry hearts right away; once cut, the berries don’t keep long.
Obviously, this tip will work with Pineberries, too. Pineberries are the white strawberry cultivar that tastes a bit like pineapple. Pineberry hearts are very pretty on their own, and are also lovely when mixed with red strawberry hearts.
If you enjoyed How to Cut Strawberries into Hearts, you may also like this recipe for Candied Orange Peel, or this one for Roasted Grapes that are not only a wonderful garnish, but make an excellent side-dish, too.
