Apple Swan (Edible Art)

In this blog post I will show you how to make an apple swan garnish. This awesome apple carving is perfect to bring to parties or maybe you just want to spruce up the dinner table.

It is fun to get creative once in awhile in the kitchen and this is something really creative that you can do which doesn’t take a whole lot of time and no baking or decorating required, just some knife skills. But don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to be an expert with a knife. Only basic knife skills are needed.

This apple swan idea has been around for many years, it was probably made the most famous by The King of Random, may he rest in peace. Time to impress your friends and family with this amazing apple swan. Let’s get started!

Ingredients

• Apples
• Lemon juice optional

Instructions

Start by cutting the apple in half at a slight angle through the core. Leaving two halves, one a little bigger than the other. Then remove the seeds and save them for the eyes.

Place two butter knives down on the cutting board or two pieces of wood that are roughly 1/4 inch thick. Eyeball the middle of the apple slice then go about a 1/4 inch from the middle and make two cuts. Cut all the way down to the butter knife (the guide).

Then come in from the side, cutting right along the guide to cut out a wedge. Do this with both sides, resulting in two nice wedges, and then a T piece.

Now, take one of the wedges and lay it flat, and then cut straight down, about 1/4 inch in from the edge. Flip the apple slice over and cut down again. This will create another smaller wedge. Repeat that process two more times. Combined these will create 1 wing. Next, do the same process with the other wedge, so you have two wings.

Put the wedges back in place and then slide them back a little bit, forming the wing. Place the wings on the base upside down T. The body and wings for our Swan/Dragon are complete.

Now, make the neck and head. Take the other smaller half and cut out a 1/4th thick disk. Then make a cut diagonally at the top where it is slightly concave. This forms the top of the head and part of the beak. Then make another cut on the inside of the apple piece, which will create the underside of the beak. Then cut down the apple forming the neck. You can make it as long as you like. Trim the bottom as needed.

Take a seed and place it on the head, press down with your finger to make it stay, or use the flat side of your knife.

Next, you need to create a slot where the neck will sit. On top of the body make two cuts straight down about 1 inch. The cuts should be in the middle and about 1/4 inch from each other. The slot should be the same width as the neck part.

Then make a slit across on top and on the bottom, and work out the little piece of apple. A thin knife or sculpting tool works well here.

Place that neck and you are done. Pretty easy right? 🙂 Take one of these to your next party and you are sure to impress some people hahaha. 🙂 Make sure to spray it with some lemon juice or something similar, this will help keep the apple from browning. Enjoy!

Find the FULL recipe here on my website.

Watch the video tutorial here: