Preparing Fresh Fruit Salad
The guidelines for soaking or rinsing fruit are the same as for soaking or rinsing vegetables discussed in the beginning of this Discussion.
Fruits which are likely to be infested, such as strawberries, may not be soaked or rinsed in soapy water, since doing so will likely kill the bugs.
Fruits may be peeled only for immediate use. Therefore, if one wishes to make a fruit salad for guests who are scheduled to arrive later in the day, one may not peel the fruit (and make the salad) in advance. Even if some of the fruit will be eaten immediately, it is prohibited to peel extra fruit for later use.
However, if the fruit was peeled for immediate use but some was left over, it is not considered as if it was peeled for later use.
If guests are scheduled to arrive during a certain part of the day, e.g., “sometime in the afternoon,” one may peel fruit for them right before the afternoon. Even if the guests do not arrive until late in the afternoon, one may still peel fruit for them earlier.
