Step-by-step photo of carving from vegetables and fruits for beginners. Photo-lessons of carving

The world of modern cooking is full of innovation. In the era of the availability of various cuisines of the world, it becomes quite difficult to surprise sophisticated gourmets. But what if, in addition to the taste of food, one could be struck by an amazing appearance?! You can surprise, create edible masterpieces, give unimaginable shapes to the usual forms of products with the help of carving from vegetables and fruits.

History of carving

It's no secret that everything ingenious is simple. This is how you can characterize the amazing art of carving, which arose many millennia ago in the expanses of the eastern lands of Asia.
Carving owes its appearance to attempts to somehow diversify the meager diet, which has always been in short supply among the poor inhabitants of East Asia. However, in contrast, they had an abundance of intelligence and ingenuity, which allowed carving to be born into the world. There is one legend, according to which once a rich gentleman came to visit a poor family. He demanded to set the table, but the hostess had nothing but a few fruits and vegetables in stock. Fearing the wrath of the master, the hostess decided to deceive him. She created strange birds and animals from fruits and vegetables, which impressed the rich gentleman so much that he did not dare to try these creations - they were so beautiful. Since then, all the inhabitants of the country, as well as those nearby, began to decorate their tables, creating incredible compositions from simple products.
Modern fruit and vegetable carving is still one of the most interesting arts in Asian countries. However, it is worth noting that his techniques have made significant progress. If earlier there was not even a good knife in service, today the field of possibilities is expanding, thanks to modern tools. However, many masters adhere to the classics - they try to follow ancient methods, avoiding newfangled devices.

Is it possible to carve at home?

The answer to this question is of course yes! Not only possible, but absolutely necessary! This art will allow you to incredibly diversify your long-familiar home-cooked food. It is generally accepted in the world that carving is a lot of creativity, and has no special relation to the world of food, as such. However, we dare to resist such speculation. Thanks to carving, food can be not only tasty and healthy, but also beautiful. An example is the classic dish - mashed potatoes with meatballs. Speaking about the composition, it is quite difficult to give a twist to this dish. The lack of the possibility of creating forms, as well as the consistency unsuitable for design, keep the dish within certain limits. However, the decoration with vegetables, which acquire their new forms in the carving technique, can add brightness and novelty to it. Having learned all the subtleties of art, you will be surprised by all the facets that will open before you.

Modern types of carving

Nowadays, actual carving from vegetables and fruits is usually divided into several areas. These include:

• Chinese
• Japanese
• Thai
• European

1) Chinese carving is an amazing world where food is transformed with the help of stencils. Although it is also customary in Chinese carving to create compositions with a knife, a stencil takes the place of the classics.
The difference in this direction is the choice in favor of vegetables. The only exceptions are watermelon and melon. The explanation is very logical - the art of stencil carving requires a larger area than other subspecies. In addition, the creation of screen carving implies maximum surface rigidity, which most fruits cannot boast of.

2) Japanese carving from vegetables and fruits - a real immersion in history. Having absorbed the best traditions of their brother (China and its carving techniques), the Japanese decided to bring a peculiarity. She became the traditional carving of hieroglyphs, as well as the creation of complex paintings, which are based on martial arts. Apple and watermelon became classic objects for Japanese technology.

3) European type of carving- a combination of the traditions of the East with the classics of the North. This species stands out in a special direction, since Europe, unlike Asian countries, is much richer in terms of products. European-style techniques are concise and focus on geometry. The flight of oriental fantasy in this genre is not so pronounced. The emphasis is on ease of use.

4) Thai carving of vegetables and fruits- the quintessence of this art. It is the Thai version that has gained wide popularity around the world. The reasons for this phenomenon are simple - Thais create the most complex compositions. In their work, they strive for perfection, because for them carving from vegetables and fruits is not just an art, but a real lifestyle.
It should be noted that most of the famous schools and even carving academies focus their attention on the Thai version.

There are several reasons for this:

• in the Thai version, there are many techniques that are available to beginners;
• there are no restrictions on art - the creator can turn off fantasy control and create their own masterpieces;
• combinatoriality, which is expressed in the possibility of combining various techniques;
• no need to purchase a wide range of equipment for creating compositions.

Based on this, as part of our lesson, it would be wise to focus on the Thai method.

Tools for creating masterpieces

Now it is necessary to highlight in more detail the basic tools that you will need to comprehend the art of carving. Among them there are a huge number of variations, but the main ones are:

Additional items you may need as you refine your practice include:

However, this list is far from complete. The popularity of carving has led to constant developments in the field, often resulting in new tools.

The basis of skill, or the secrets of professionals

In order to make your first experience as productive as possible, you should pay attention to the achievements of eminent carving masters.
The main postulates that will allow you to successfully begin to improve in your chosen area include the following points:

The main thing in carving is practice. Over time, you will be able to learn how to correctly calculate the force of pressing the knife, as well as the angle of its direction.
Additionally, the masters note that fantasy plays a huge role in carving. Even if something didn’t work out for you, look at your creation from a different angle - perhaps your small flaw or small mistake allowed a new technique to be born.

From theory to practice: carving for beginners

Now that the basics of this art have become clear to you, it's time to put the acquired knowledge into practice. In order to achieve the best result, you should gradually increase the complexity of the work. Through such a gradation, you will have skills, thanks to which in the future any element will be available for you to manufacture.
First of all, we choose the object of creation. Experts advise starting with the following applicants:

• cucumber;
• carrot;
• apple

They have earned such trust due to their qualities - a dense consistency allows you to get the necessary skill with minimal loss of quality.
So, let's see what masterpieces a beginner in carving can make.

1. Cucumber flower

It is necessary to take one dense long cucumber. We cut the middle into halves (2-3 pieces are needed), and we will use the edge with the “tail” to give the composition color and create a flower.

In the flower part we make six cuts, not reaching two cm to the tail (use a long knife).

We cut the resulting blank along the edges to get the outlines of the petals, as in the photo (use a Thai knife).

We remove the core of the cucumber (if there is no special knife, you can carefully make it with a spoon). Next, we make cloves with a Thai knife.

Now, with a Thai knife, carefully separate the skin from the pulp. Finally, make small triangular windows at the base.

Place the blank in ice water - so you can straighten the future petals.

From the pulp of the cucumber, make a round core, which must be decorated with an ornament and placed inside the flower.

We cut the cucumber, not reaching the base, as shown in the photo (7 layers each).

We divide the plates into 7 pcs.

We make bends of each even plate (in one direction);

We collect everything together and enjoy the creation of our own hands!

2. Carrot cloves

It is necessary to cut the carrots according to the proportions shown in the photo.

On the long part, using a Thai knife, it is necessary to cut the grooves. Their number can be unlimited, but you should not grind too much.

Next, we cut the resulting part with grooves in such a way that we get thin flowers.

The remaining part needs to be corrected - cut its edges so that it takes a conical shape.

On the wide side, using a Thai knife, you need to create a semblance of a grid.

Create, by shallow longitudinal cuts, pockets for the finished petals.

Place the petal blanks in the cut pockets.

The carnation is ready.

For beauty, you can decorate the core with dried cloves or something else.

3. Apple flower

Arm yourself with a hard apple and a Thai knife.

Cut off 1/4 from the side where the apple has a tail.

Carefully, without reaching the end, separate the peel with a thin layer of pulp from the core. It is also necessary to make 13 cuts - they will serve as blanks for the petals.

Using the marks, make triangular cuts to create petals on the apple.

Now you need to repeat 13 marks, and in the same way cut the petals from the apple pulp.
Important! The petals of the second level must be between the petals of the first level.

The procedure should be repeated with another row of pulp.

Next - create the last row of petals. Remove the bones from the middle and fill it with something of your choice. Something brighter would look good.

Thus, carving vegetables and fruits is an amazing activity. It keeps the traditions of the ancient East, at the same time combining them with new technologies. Allows you to turn food into works of art that give us not only food saturation, but also aesthetic pleasure.

Having tried your hand at carving, you can diversify homemade food, as well as surprise your family and guests with your extraordinary approach to creating dishes.

Composition "Fruits on a plate" in quilling technique for children from 7 years old. Master class with photo

Shilkina Tatyana Anatolyevna, educator of the State Budgetary Institution KO "Meshchovsky Social and Rehabilitation Center for Minors", Meshchovsk, Kaluga Region.
Description: this master class is intended for children from 7 years old, teachers of additional education, teachers, parents, people who love to do needlework.
Purpose: interior decoration, gift, work for a creative competition.
Target: production of a composition using the quilling technique.
Tasks:
- introduce various elements of quilling technique;
- to teach children to create a composition from completed details;
- to develop an eye, perseverance, imagination, fantasy;
- to cultivate accuracy in the performance of work.

Materials and tools required for work: colored office paper, toothpick, scissors, disposable paper plate, PVA glue, glue stick, ruler, simple pencil.

Rules for working with scissors:
1. Store scissors in a specific place - in a stand or case.
2. Put the scissors with closed blades from the worker; when passing, hold them by closed blades.
3. Do not leave scissors with open blades.
4. Work with well-sharpened scissors.
5. Monitor the movement and position of the blades during operation.
6. Use the scissors for their intended purpose.

Progress:

1. Let's make strawberries.
To do this, we cut strips 5 mm wide and 15 cm long from red office paper, wind them on a toothpick, loosen them a little and fix the end on a glue stick.

Using the template, we will begin to glue the resulting red rolls together, forming a berry.
We glue 3 strips 30 cm long into one long one and stick it on the berry.

Cut out leaves from green paper, stick on the berry.

Let's make the required number of berries. In this case, 3 pieces.

2. Let's make kiwi slices.
To do this, we need green strips 5 mm wide and 30 cm long. We wind them on a toothpick and form a drop shape. We make a tight roll from a white strip and open it a little and flatten it - this is the middle of the kiwi.
Strips of brown color (4 pieces) are glued into one long strip.

We collect a slice of kiwi.

3. Let's make orange slices.
To do this, we need stripes of white, yellow and orange.
We glue the strips of yellow and white into one, wind the strip onto a toothpick so that the yellow remains in the middle, form a free spiral.

We form a shape from the details - a triangle.

We collect a slice of orange, glue the triangular blanks together. Then we glue the resulting blank with an orange strip (it consists of 3 strips of 30 cm each).

We carry out the required number of slices.

4. We collect the composition "Fruits on a plate".
We put our fruits on a plate. And we love!!!

Sample

Thank you for your attention!

With the help of carving from vegetables and fruits, you can create the most complex decorative compositions and still lifes. Although this art requires special skills, its simplest techniques are accessible to everyone.

Required Tools

To create the simplest works, it is absolutely not necessary to use special tools. A sharp knife with a thin and flexible blade and a little patience is enough. If you are planning to seriously engage in carving, you should stock up on a set of special tools:

• Thai knife: the main tool that is indispensable when carving small parts; has a narrow and short sharpened blade;
• sickle-shaped knife: similar to Thai, but its blade is wider, it is used to cut out larger patterns;
• long knife: looks like an ordinary kitchen knife, but has a narrowed blade; is a universal tool and can be used for any type of carving;

• carving knives for cutting leaves, petals and other floral ornaments: they can be oval, V-shaped, round or square, wide or narrow;
• knives for cannelling (creating grooves);
• small scissors with thin blades to give the edges a decorative shape;
• spoon-noisetto for taking out the pulp;
• carving for removing the core of apples or pears and creating recesses in patterns: it looks like a knife with a circle-shaped tip;
• mini molds;
• girole: a tool for removing the thinnest layer from cheese and other soft products;
• toothpicks and gelatin for fastening parts.

Advice! Finished work can be boiled or fried. For example, making flowers from soft boiled carrots and beets is more difficult. Therefore, figurines are first made, and then they are steamed. Raw potato blanks can be deep-fried.

Preparing vegetables and fruits

Almost any vegetables are used for carving: Bulgarian and hot peppers, radishes, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. Of the fruits, apples, oranges, lemons, melons and watermelons are the most suitable for work.

The main thing is that vegetables and fruits are even and smooth, with a minimum amount of pulp and seeds. Overripe fruits will not keep their shape, so you should not use them. Their colors are also important.

All vegetables and fruits are thoroughly washed and dried. Dense vegetables (potatoes, radishes, celery or ginger) are best taken out of the refrigerator first - in the heat they will wilt a little and become more plastic.

Apples and quince, prone to browning, are pre-sprinkled with a solution of vinegar, lemon juice. So that carrots do not break during work, they are soaked in salt water for a couple of hours. Cucumbers and tomatoes should be chosen the most dense, with a minimum amount of juice.

Advice! Fruits and vegetables can be stored in cold water for several days. So that they do not darken, they are sprinkled with lemon juice and diluted gelatin from a spray bottle. Watery fruits are not soaked - during storage they are only periodically sprayed with water.

The simplest examples of carving

With the help of virtuoso carving, you can create unusually beautiful edible pictures and ornaments from vegetables and fruits. However, the simplest works can be quite spectacular - the most important thing is to apply diligence and ingenuity.

We present to your attention the simplest carving of vegetables and fruits with a step-by-step photo:

• you can make an original flower using an ordinary potato peeler - for its petals it is enough to cut the thinnest layer in a circle, for example, from a radish, roll it into a tight spiral with the pulp inside, and then straighten it;
• from a pumpkin, watermelon or melon, you can make a spectacular basket or stroller for fruit, ice cream or pastries; for this, it is better to pre-prepare a paper pattern and cut the edges and handle along it with a sharp knife; such a product can be decorated with carvings in the form of a floral ornament;

• from a small pumpkin, funny cups are obtained in the form of a head of a tiger cub, a cat, a bear cub or a monkey; ears and other parts are glued with gelatin; instead of eyes, halves of olives or pieces of eggplant are used;
• you can get bright callas from hot pepper in a couple of minutes, if you cut it lengthwise from the stalk to the very tip, carefully remove the seeds along with the stalk, and then round the edges of the pepper with a knife; now, closer to the edge of the pepper, we make a small hole and insert the seeds into it along with the stalk; bright flower is ready.

Advice!To obtain through holes in a thick-walled pumpkin or zucchini, you can use a drill or drill.

Watermelon crafts

Pirate ship

Turtle

More ideas

Spectacular dark burgundy roses

From the thin edges of the foliage of red cabbage and cucumber "cups" you can make unusual flowers. For this:

• the upper coarse leaves are removed from the cabbage;
• thin scissors cut off the edges of sheets 2-3 cm wide;
• petals are formed from the received stripes: on one strip, depending on its length, there can be 2–3 or more;
• the round tip is cut off from the cucumber and the pulp is removed; the edges of the resulting cup are shaped with cloves using scissors;
• ready-made cabbage petals are carefully inserted into each cucumber cup;
• in this way, several roses are prepared: buds are made from tightly twisted petals, and fully bloomed flowers from straightened ones;
• the stem is made from the pulp of any dense vegetable - for example, a radish or a vein of cabbage; to make it green, an onion feather is put on it;
• each flower is attached to the stem with a toothpick;
• foliage can be cut from a leek or green apple.

Advice!In the carving technique, the most important place is given to the sharpness of the tool. Poorly sharpened knives or knives made of poor quality steel will crush the workpiece.

Photo master class on creating roses from strawberries

Dahlia

More complex work is more convenient to perform with the help of special tools. For this work, you will need an oval billet of potatoes or large carrots, slightly flattened from the sides. It is better to take carrots without a pronounced core - otherwise the flower will exfoliate:

• to begin with, we retreat a couple of millimeters from the edge and cut out 7-9 petals in a circle with a medium-sized oval knife; the knife should enter the pulp deep enough, but not to the very edge of the workpiece;
• preparing the second row of petals; for this, we cut off part of the pulp under the petals of the first row; you don’t need to delete too much - the number of rows should be as large as possible;
• the tongues of the flower have different sizes, so they should be cut with different knives;
• the last we make out the core with the thinnest knife.

Advice! The resulting masterpiece can be preserved for a long time if it is first dried in the attic or near the battery, and then varnished. Of course, it will no longer be possible to eat it after varnishing.

Salads, meat or fish dishes can be decorated with elegant snow-white chrysanthemum. To make the petals thin and lie naturally, it is better to take a small thin-walled bulb:

• after cleaning, it should be slightly cut off the top and bottom (no more than half a centimeter);
• with a thin knife, cut the onion crosswise, not cutting to the bottom of 0.5 cm;
• the incision should begin from the upper part from which the feather grows;
• if the cut is shallow, then the flower will not open well, but if the head is “opened” almost to the end, then it may simply fall apart;
• again cut the onion crosswise so that the cut line falls on the center of the previous cuts;
• we continue to make cruciform cuts to get the maximum number of slices;
• no need to try to separate the slices with your hands, otherwise the flower will break; you just need to put the bulb in cold water for an hour - the chrysanthemum will bloom by itself; if the onion walls are denser (depending on its variety), it may take more than an hour for the flower to bloom;
• to color chrysanthemum, you can dip it in food coloring, beetroot, cherry juice, blackcurrant juice, red wine or saffron infusion; You can shade not the whole flower, but only its tips.

Floral theme - a favorite for carving specialists

Advice! Bulb flower may have larger segments. To make it, it is necessary to cut only the top two layers into four parts, carefully straighten the first layer of petals, and remove the second with a knife. Do the same with the next layers. In the finished flower, the petals are staggered relative to each other.

Rosette of tomato, orange or lemon

To make this bright flower, you will not need special tools - only a sharpened knife:

• cut the tomato in half;
• cut the resulting half into small equal semicircular slices;
• “stretch” the chopped tomato on the board, trying not to displace any of its parts;
• gently twist one of the edges of our figure;
• to move the finished flower to the dish, you should clasp it on both sides with your hands and squeeze it tightly;
• With a small sharp knife, cut out a couple of green leaves from the skin of a cucumber for a rose; you can make them from thin strips of cucumber, folded in half;
Making an orange rose is very easy.



Advice! Decorations must be combined with the dish to taste. It is better to decorate hot fish or meat with tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers. Sea delicacies are in perfect harmony with lemon. Fruit is the perfect decoration for dessert.

To work, you will need an oval or triangular carb knife with a special groove and a small tight head of Chinese cabbage:

• the upper leaves and the rough lower part of the stalk are removed from the head of cabbage so that the leaves do not fall apart;
• its upper part is cut off almost in half so that 12-15 cm remain from the place where the leaves are attached in the area of ​​​​the former stalk;
• we will work only with large veins of cabbage, its green parts are completely removed;
• thin sections of different lengths are made along the veins with a carb knife from the top to the center of the head; closer to the stalk, the knife goes deeper - we should get petals that are thin at the edges and denser towards the center;

Chinese cabbage chrysanthemum

Advice! To master the carving of vegetables and fruits for beginners (see photo), it is absolutely not necessary to purchase a whole set of tools. Some of them can be made independently. For example, you can make a carving knife using a thin olive lid. It is bent at an angle so that a groove is obtained. For carving, you can use any wood carving tools.

multi-petalled radish flower

You can quickly make such a flower with a regular sharp knife. To do this, the upper and lower parts are slightly cut off from the radish and several parallel cuts are made on the sides of the root crop. The more often they are located, the more elegant the flower will turn out.

The second radish is cut into thin circles-petals. The resulting petals are carefully inserted into the slots of the first radish.

It is better to master the carving of vegetables and fruits from a photo or video.

Vegetable carving is the art of decorating dishes with artistic cutting. Anyone who has ever been on vacation in warm countries or at a banquet in a restaurant is familiar with this technique. The buffet usually contains dishes decorated with vegetable flowers and figurines. Cutting these figures with a knife is called carving. Mastering the technique is easy. Step-by-step instructions for beginners and examples of vegetable decorations will help with this.

Technology features

Carving as a culinary art originated in Asia two thousand years ago. Initially, the technique was called mukimono - the artistic layout of leaves on earthenware. Modern chefs have adopted the name from the English language, where its literal translation is “carving”, “cutting”. With the spread of carving, the technique itself has changed. Oriental craftsmen decorated dishes with leaves, figurines of flowers, animals and birds. Now culinary specialists can carve both a pumpkin carriage and a Cinderella from a zucchini.

In resort countries, carving from vegetables and fruits is a common occurrence, but in Russia it has not yet become widespread. Having mastered the elementary techniques of this technique, you can surprise guests with the beauty of dishes at a dinner party. There are two types of technique: classical and three-dimensional (sculptural).

Classical carving is cutting along the skin of a vegetable or fruit. The carving is carried out along the outer layer to reveal the pulp of the fruit. Due to the contrast between the color of the skin and the pulp, a pattern is created. "Sculptural" carving is a three-dimensional carving on the peel and pulp of the fruit. With its help, complex 3D objects are created.

To make carving at home, it is enough to master the classic technique. Understanding the basics of working with artistic cutting tools, it will be easier to start creating voluminous gastronomic masterpieces. For artistic cutting use fruits, vegetables, berries. Vegetable carving has its own characteristics:

• any vegetable crops are suitable for cutting;
• finished figures can be stored in cold water for 1-2 days;
• light-fleshed vegetables can be dyed with food coloring;
• figures from most vegetables can be boiled, baked, deep-fried, if the temperature and time conditions are observed, they will not lose their color and shape;
• simple figures are made with a kitchen knife, as well as with a vegetable peeler;
• fasten the elements of the figure with toothpicks.

Professional carving requires patience, concentration, a steady hand and special tools.

Required Tools

For the first test, a simple knife with a sharp blade, which is in the kitchen, is suitable. But for a quality result, it is not enough. When turning carving into a hobby, you need to stock up on at least a small set of professional knives, and buy the rest as you develop skills.

• Main tool - thai knife. It has a sharpened blade for curly cutting. It is convenient for them to cut patterns on soft vegetables with a thin skin and work with hard fruits.
• sickle knife indispensable when processing large fruits with a strong peel. For example, pumpkins.

• table knife cut large vegetables into pieces.
• Carb knives make curly cuts. The shape of the notch (groove) depends on the cross section of the knife: round, oval, triangular or V-shaped.
• engraving knife- a tool for creating a linear pattern (grooves) on vegetables. It is round, triangular or shaped.
• Noisettes- these are knives and spoons with a notch. With the help of a recess in the pulp of the fruit, hemispheres and balls of different diameters are cut out. With a noisette, you can take out the pulp and seeds from vegetables, create depressions with a smooth edge. Another detail of the composition is usually placed in the recess. For example, the core of a flower.

• Cannelling knife- a device for cutting even grooves in vegetable pulp.
• Calibration knife- a tool for cutting "corrugated" parts. There are calibration knives with different blades: wide and narrow, with a small, medium and large wave.
• Spade knives- tools with an elastic soft blade for creating openwork patterns.
• Serpentine cutter- "sharpener" for vegetables. With it, you can cut a long and thin strip of pulp. Also, a serpentine cutter removes the peel in the form of spiral chips.
• Korean carrot knife cuts vegetables into neat strips.
• die cuts- These are figured molds made of stainless steel. Outwardly and according to the principle of action, they are similar to cookie cutters.

• Scissors for carving are used in two cases. With their help, you can speed up the cutting of flowers from soft vegetables and bring the finished work to perfection.
• Toothpicks and skewers connect fragments of complex figures into a single whole.

Carving tools must be of high quality. All but the sickle-shaped knives have a strong but thin and sharp stainless steel blade. The sickle knife may be made of a more flexible material. Blades need to be sharpened from time to time. The sharper they are, the more convenient it is to work with them, the ornament turns out more accurately.

The handle of artistic cutting tools needs to be smooth, moderately light, so that it is comfortable to hold it in your hand for a long time. The weight of the correct carving knife is 50-70 grams.

Step by step instructions for beginners

There is no universal scheme for artistic cutting on vegetables. To master carving at home, you need to start with simple shapes and gradually increase the level of complexity. Over time, it will be possible to create your own original products without ready-made schemes. And at first, step-by-step instructions from books, culinary magazines and the Internet will help. The carving procedure is conditionally divided into three stages: the selection of suitable vegetables, the preparation of vegetables, and artistic cutting.

Choice of vegetables

Fruits of any crops are suitable for cutting, but of a certain quality. To make a figurine, a flower or a whole bouquet of vegetables with your own hands, you need to choose a “working material” according to several criteria.

• Quality. To work, you need a moderately elastic fruit without rot and mechanical damage on the peel, the correct shape for its culture. The less empty space and seeds inside, the easier it is to work.
• Freshness. Taking vegetables just from the garden is a mistake. Their fruits are still too elastic and juicy. When cutting, a lot of liquid will be released, and small parts of the figure may break. A flabby vegetable is also not worth taking. The edges of the ornament will turn out uneven, the leaves of the flowers will look lethargic.
• degree of maturity. For carving, fruits are needed “in their prime”, when they are already moderately large, but not yet overripe. Such vegetables have dense pulp, strong skin, but there are no voids inside the fruit. They have a bright color inside, outside and are stored longer in the form of finished products.

• Shape and size. The fruits must be selected depending on the shape that should be obtained after cutting. For figures with rounded lines, rounded vegetables are needed, for oblong ones, elongated ones. The shape of a vegetable is already a hint of what can come out of it. For example, it is good to cut leaves from a cucumber, dahlias from beets, lush chrysanthemums from Chinese cabbage.
• The color of the pulp and fruit. Carving looks really beautiful when the vegetable has a bright color inside and out, or there is an obvious contrast between the skin and the flesh. The closer the color of the vegetable to the color of the prototype figure, the more natural the figure looks.
• From green vegetables, beautiful leaves are obtained, from white and red - flowers, from red - cones. Many colors work well together. For example, greens from cucumber peels and poppies from bell peppers.
• If you need a custom color, it is enough to take vegetables with white pulp (potato, daikon, white radish, turnip) and lower the finished figure into a solution with food coloring.

Preparing vegetables

Before cutting, vegetables must be taken out of the refrigerator, so the fruits will be more elastic. Rinse them with water at room temperature, dry on a napkin. Sprinkle vegetables that darken when exposed to air with a solution of vinegar or lemon juice. Figures can be cut from pickled vegetables if the fruit is elastic. They also need to be washed and dried first.

cutting

It is convenient to master the technique on concise figures.

• Lily from fresh cucumber. Cut off 5-7 cm cucumber. Cut off the rounded part to make the flower stable. With a knife, make incisions (petals) along the length, from top to bottom, without cutting 5 mm to the base. The thickness of the petals is 0.5-1 mm. Move clockwise. Arrange the second row of petals in a checkerboard pattern in relation to the first. The third row is again staggered in relation to the second. The thicker the cucumber, the more rows. Cut the cylinder from the core of the flower to the base, it can be replaced with a circle of carrots. Dip the lily in cold water so that the petals open.

• Chrysanthemum from Chinese cabbage. Take a strong head of Beijing cabbage, cut off the top of the leaves. White veins should remain on the stalk. The remains of the leaves from the veins must be removed immediately. Using a semicircular or triangular cutting knife, cut each vein, not reaching 5-7 mm to the place where the sheet is attached to the base. From one vein, from 3 to 6 petals are obtained. The thinner the petals, the more magnificent the flower will be. Dip the chrysanthemum in cold water.

• Poppy from bell pepper and black radish. Take a large bell pepper. Cut off the upper part with the stalk (3-5 cm). It is not needed for carving. Remove the seeds from the rest. Make 4-5 arcuate cuts along the upper edge. These will be the petals. With a thin, sharp knife, split each petal in half. Bend the outer part with the skin slightly outward. Dip the poppy into the water. While the petals are blooming in the water, cut off a small piece from the black radish, about 2 cm high and 3 wide. Do not cut the skin of the radish. Without bringing the knife to the end, cut a piece into strips and fluff the resulting core. Connect the poppy and the core with a toothpick.

Flowers from vegetables can be collected in bouquets, combining the same flowers of different sizes or shapes from different fruits.

Ideas for decorating dishes

Carving - decoration for the festive table.

• With the help of a regular vegetable peeler, it is easy to make roses for salads and serving appetizers. It is enough just to cut a long thin strip from the pulp of a bright vegetable (beet, cucumber, carrot, radish), roll it into a spiral and straighten the edges.
• For salads and cold appetizers that contain onions, sweet white and red onion chrysanthemums are suitable.
• Contrasting flowers and figures from green and red vegetables look beautiful on dishes with grated cheese. For example, pepper poppies, tomato roses, cucumber lilies.

• Curly cuts of canned vegetables (cucumber, daikon, squash, zucchini) are suitable for salted and pickled snacks.
• With the help of artistic cutting, it is easy to emphasize the theme of the table. For example, during the winter holidays, New Year's paraphernalia from vegetables is relevant (needles from greens and cones from carrots, Christmas trees from cucumbers, snowflakes from daikon).
• Kids at children's parties like animals from vegetables (turtles from cucumbers, a lion from carrots). In the form of figures, children willingly eat "tasteless" vegetables: avocados in the form of a firebird, cauliflower sheep.
• On a festive table without a specific theme, guests will be surprised by a pumpkin flower basket filled with bright vegetables.

How to save creation?

There is not always time to be creative on a holiday. Curly blanks from vegetables can be made in advance.

There are several simple ways to extend the life of finished products. The first way is in technology. If you do not cut the peel of the fruit deeper than 2 mm, it will retain moisture inside longer, and hence the appearance. But this option is not suitable for sculptural carving.

The second option is to sprinkle the finished figure with a solution of vinegar or lemon juice. The third way is to use the cold. Flowers and figures from vegetables should be wrapped with cling film and stored in the refrigerator for a day. For a shorter time, they can be lowered into cold water. These simple tricks will help keep the vegetable creation beautiful before the guests arrive and during the celebration.

How to decorate dishes with vegetables, see the following video.

Those who want to learn the art of creating pictures from vegetables and fruits can be recommended to attend a carving master class. Carving from vegetables and fruits is a great opportunity to come up with a composition in an original technique, decorating a festive table for a family celebration.

Carving lessons for beginners are a great opportunity to get step-by-step instructions for creating your own vegetable and fruit compositions using the figured cutting technique. Beginning craftsmen are advised to attend a master class or watch a training video, and only then proceed to making DIY carving masterpieces.

For that, to master the art of vegetable carving you will need the following tools:

• a special knife with a narrow and short sharp blade;
• knife with a wide blade for the manufacture of large elements of the composition;
• knife with a long narrow blade;
• small scissors for trimming the edges of vegetables;
• thin wooden sticks (like toothpicks) for holding vegetables together.

List of the most common vegetables, from which you can create an original work with your own hands:

• pepper (hot or sweet);
• radish;
• cucumbers;
• cabbage;
• pumpkin;
• potato;
• tomato.

By attending a master class on vegetable carving, some craftsmen will learn how to create original still lifes with their own hands, using the natural properties of different vegetables: color, texture, hardness. The main thing is creativity, patience and accuracy.

Gallery: carving from vegetables and fruits (25 photos)

Fruit carving for beginners

For fruit carving you will need approximately the same tools as for figured carving of vegetables. But at the same time, it must be borne in mind that fruits have a softer and looser texture, so when working with them, in no case should you press the knife hard. If the novice master remembers this, he will be able to create a real masterpiece with his own hands. Fruit carving at a children's party will look especially beautiful.

At a fruit carving master class, beginners are usually offered to make a picture with their own hands from:

• apples of different varieties;
• citrus fruits (oranges and lemons, less often - tangerines);
• watermelons;
• melons (choose those varieties that have fairly hard pulp).

The simplest version of fruit carving- making a figured basket of watermelon or orange with your own hands. A novice master can easily cope with this work by watching a training video. The finished basket can be filled with other fruits or berries, it will serve as a wonderful gift or decoration of the festive table. And the kids will just love it. The main thing is to skillfully beat the natural properties of fruits in the work: color, texture and shape.

Figured carving of vegetables and fruits is a creative activity. You can come up with ideas for creating compositions on your own, as well as borrow from experienced professionals by watching a video or attending a master class.

However, regardless of the creative idea, when creating vegetable and fruit paintings with your own hands, you must keep in mind the following:

Other uses for carving

Carving opens up for beginners wide scope for creativity. Beautiful compositions can be created with your own hands not only from vegetables and fruits, but also from cheese. And there are craftsmen who are engaged in artistic carving on soap. A master class and a training video can be easily found on the Internet.

Artistic paper carving is also very popular. This art came to us from Japan and China, where the tradition of artistic carving goes back many centuries. Paper carving requires special care and accuracy, as well as good eyesight. You can start by simply cutting out patterns based on symmetry using a ready-made stencil (for example, the well-known New Year's snowflakes).

Experienced craftsmen can create with their own hands a whole plot picture made of paper using a special thin knife. When doing work, you must remember: to achieve even lines, the knife must be sharpened sharply. A landscape or even a portrait made of paper with your own hands using the carving technique will serve as an original gift. It can also be successfully used in interior decoration.

Carving is a wonderful form of leisure and creative activity for children and adults. Attention: since carving uses sharp knives, this hobby is only recommended for older children, and the child should work only under adult supervision!