Thai Fruit Carving

The art of fruit and vegetable carving kae-sa-lak is also performed in Asian countries such as Korea, Japan and China, but Thai culinary carving is arguably "unsurpassed" for skill and finesse. The best masterpieces can be found in Thailand. Thai cuisine involves the balancing of contrasting flavours, spicy and subtle, sweet and sharp. It is also concerned with aesthetic values for the Thais believe that food should please the eye as well as the palate.

Fruit and vegetable carving is a venerable tradition which has been passed down form ancient times. Fruit and vegetable carving is considered one of the ten traditional Thai crafts. It is thus held to be an ancient art and is used in making food offerings for monks, entertaining guests, ordinations, weddings, and royal funerals.

Thailand, is famed the world over for the beauty and delicacy of its art and culture, which once experienced, make such an unforgettable impression upon visitors that they wish to come back time and time again. One thing that so delights them is the artistry of carved fruits and vegetables, an integral part of the presentation of delectable Thai food.

The art of fruit and vegetable carving was originated in 1364 in Sukhothai when Nang Noppharat (Thao Sichulalak), who was the chief royal consort, decorated the floating lamp (Krathong) with a profusion of flowers and birds, swans, rabbits and many other animals carved from fruits and vegetables. She made this Krathong for the royal festival of loey Krathong celebrated on the night of the full moon of November of every year. A Krathong is a tiny banana leaf boat shaped like a lotus flower and containing flowers, incense, lighted candles, and a coin. This floating lamp is floated on Thailand rivers for good luck. Nang Noppharat carved fruits and vegetables in a variety of flowers and animals which were used to decorate the floating lamp, making it look like a huge water lily flower. When the King Phra Ruang saw what she had created, he appreciated this innovation and "decreed it would be an art heritage of Thailand". Since that date, the art of vegetable and fruit carving has been performed by the ladies of the Royal Court.

During the first reign of the Bangkok period, His Majesty King Rama I the Great held a fruit and vegetable carving competition at the festival of the twelfth lunar month. Squashes were elaborately carved to serve as bowls for presenting sweet young rice to monks, and the trays on which the bowls were placed were splendidly adorned with flowers of many sorts carved from papayas coloured with natural dyes.

Fruit and vegetable carving was thus an art of the palace, and it was the palace which became as it were the university for Thai ladies. Girls of good family would be sent to the palace to be trained in the establishments of great ladies.

This art was the preserve of chefs to royalty and the nobility, but can now be found in the buffet displays of the best hotels. The master carvers have taught their trade to the new generation.

It was in the change in the form of government in 1932 during the Seventh Reign that a school of home economics was first established under Headmaster Yeuan Phanuthat . In 1934, Phraya Sarasatpraphan , the Minister of Education, gathered teachers from all over the country for a one-year training course in various arts among which was fruit and vegetable carving, and from that time onward, the art has spread among people of all classes.

The fruit carvers use a range of tools built for the job : very sharp pointed knives with double edged blades, knives with curved blades, gouges and cookie cutters. They must show patience, eye concentration and steady hands.

The purpose of fruit and vegetable carving is to make food more attractive, more appetizing, and also easier to eat. The accomplished homemaker welcomes her guests with fruit carefully pared, seeded, and perhaps cut into bite-size slices depending on the type. Vegetables are first delicately carved, then cooked, and finally arranged attractively to decorate the dish which they are part of. Needless to say, guests are greatly pleased to be honoured with such a gracious welcome, displaying as it does the good feelings and willing hospitality of the maker.

Decorating fresh, well-formed, and colorful fruits and vegetables through artistic carving is by no means difficult; all it takes is concentration. Starting out, there is no need for special carving knives; "one sharp-pointed knife" is enough to carve fruits and vegetables beautifully. "The knife, however, must be sharp at all times, and so you should always have a small whetstone nearby".
 

How to carve