Foodie friends, meet Hootie. He is an owl made up of 2 pineapples, 2 oranges, a couple of lemon slices and lime rind.
He may only be made from less than $10 worth of fruit, but he will be priceless with how many smiles he provides when guests see him perched on your table.
Pineapple Owl Fruit Sculpture takes melon craving to a whole new level with this cute fruit animal owl. This fruit carving idea only takes 15 minutes and is super easy, without much actual “carving” at all.
I got this idea from my friends over at the ITSMeals at the Provo School District. I did a post for them a while back about providing quality and nutritious foods in school cafeterias and one of the ways they drum up interest with their youngsters was to “play with the food”.
Make sure you PIN this fruit centerpiece before leaving!
Typically frowned upon, kids would look forward to seeing what the lunch ladies (their term, not mine) would come up with day after day. Hootie here looked easy enough for me to tackle. He got a lot of smiles and photographs.
Here is what you’ll need to make your own Pineapple Owl Centerpiece:
- 2 pineapples look for equal sized stems
- 2 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 1 lime or 2 blueberries or grapes
- 1 raspberry or blueberry or grape
- 15 toothpicks
- 1 long skewer
ONE. Start by cutting the stem off each pineapple. Leave a little bit of “meat” so you have some to securely fasten Hootie’s wings to his body.
TWO. Place one pineapple on top of the other in a perpendicular fashion, allowing the top pineapple to hang over the bottom slightly. The top flat, exposed part will be his face and the bottom his body.
Place the long, thick skewer down through the center, using a meat mallet to gently nail it through, if needed. There will be some sticking out of the top, that is okay.
THREE. Take each stem (wings) and wedge the “meat” between the two pineapple pieces. Secure using toothpicks.
FOUR. Cut first orange into 5 large wedges, making sure at least one has a pointy end (beak). Trim beak piece about 2/3’s of the way so it is flat, affix to flat pineapple “face” just slightly south of the center point, point facing down.
On the remaining two pieces, use a sharp paring knife to cut away rind to reveal pith to resemble talons.
FIVE. Trim backs so they easily nestle up to the pineapple body. Affix using toothpicks.
SIX. Using the remaining orange, make two slender slices right down the center. They need to be large and uniform size. You will have pieces of orange leftover from both oranges, toss these in a fruit salad or eat as a snack. Follow the same technique for one of the lemons, placing in the center of the orange.
SEVEN. Next, using a paring knife to cut a small amount of rind from a lime, making into two small circles for pupils. I had meant to use grapes or blueberries for this, as it is much easier, but I forgot to reserve blueberries when making muffins and grapes were super expensive.
Place a toothpick through all three and fix to the pineapple for eyes. Since these are large, the toothpick will be close to the pineapple rind.
EIGHT. Lastly, cut a lemon in half, lengthwise and place on the top skewer for his “hat” and then top with a raspberry (blueberry or grape) to hide the rest of the skewer.
NINE. Sit back and have a nice chat with your new friend. Make sure you give him (or her) a name.
Scroll down for printable instructions…
And then I turned him into Pineapple Fried Rice. I guess if my current career doesn’t pan out, there is always a spot for me aboard a cruise ship making towel and fruit animals.
Pineapple Owl Centerpiece
Ingredients
- 2 pineapples look for equal sized stems
- 2 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 1 lime or 2 blueberries or grapes
- 1 raspberry or blueberry or grape
- 15 toothpicks
- 1 long skewer
Instructions
- All steps are numbered above. Start by cutting the stem off each pineapple. Leave a little bit of “meat” so you have some to securely fasten Hootie’s wings to his body.
- Place one pineapple on top of the other in a perpendicular fashion, allowing the top pineapple to hang over the bottom slightly. The top flat, exposed part will be his face and the bottom his body. Place the long, thick skewer down through the center, using a meat mallet to gently nail it through, if needed. There will be some sticking out of the top, that is okay.
- Take each stem (wings) and wedge the “meat” between the two pineapple pieces. Secure using toothpicks.
- Cut first orange into 5 large wedges, making sure at least one has a pointy end (beak). Trim beak piece about 2/3’s of the way so it is flat, affix to flat pineapple “face” just slightly south of the center point, point facing down. On the remaining two pieces, use a sharp paring knife to cut away rind to reveal pith to resemble talons.
- Trim backs so they easily nestle up to the pineapple body. Affix using toothpicks.
- Using the remaining orange, make two slender slices right down the center. They need to be large and uniform size. You will have pieces of orange leftover from both oranges, toss these in a fruit salad or eat as a snack. Follow the same technique for one of the lemons, placing in the center of the orange. Next, using a paring knife to cut a small amount of rind from a lime, making into two small circles for pupils. I had meant to use grapes or blueberries for this, as it is much easier, but I forgot to reserve blueberries when making muffins and grapes were super expensive. Place a toothpick through all three and fix to the pineapple for eyes. Since these are large, the toothpick will be close to the pineapple rind.
- Lastly, cut a lemon in half, lengthwise and place on the top skewer for his “hat” and then top with a raspberry (blueberry or grape) to hide the rest of the skewer.
- If you’ve tried this recipe come back and let us know how it was!
I love him!