Vegetarian Fruit Course

This is a plated assembly rather than a cooked dish, so the work is all in the knife and in the order of operations. It makes one serving.

• VandykedTo vandyke an edge is to cut it in a row of small V-shaped notches; the name is conventionally traced to the pointed beards and deep-pointed lace collars seen in Van Dyck's portraits. On pineapple rings a paring knife or a small V-cutter gives a scalloped wheel; it is decoration only and can be skipped.
• Pulverized sugarIn this period that means sugar ground fine, closest to today's superfine (caster) sugar. Modern confectioners' sugar carries cornstarch and will go pasty on wet fruit; superfine dissolves cleanly.
• Do the lemon juice firstBananas brown within a few minutes of cutting. Slice them straight into a bowl with lemon juice, drain, then plate, rather than assembling and squeezing juice over the top.
• PineappleThe instruction assumes a whole fresh fruit cut into rings; the fibrous core is removed with a small round cutter or an apple corer. Canned rings come already cored but are packed in syrup and will make the plate wet.
• Orange sections"Membrane removed" means supremed: cut off peel and pith down to the flesh, then cut each segment free between the dividing walls, working over a bowl to catch juice.
• Temperature and timingEverything is best cold and the plate assembled shortly before serving. Strawberries hulled and left to sit will weep and slacken the whole arrangement.
• Sugar passed, not sprinkledThe sugar goes to the table in a small bowl so each diner sweetens to taste. Sugared in the kitchen, the fruit draws juice and the plate loses its shape.