Make a Fruit Bouquet

Fruit arrangements are festive, eye-catching centerpieces. These edible bouquets are appropriate for every occasion, from baby showers to Fourth of July barbecues, and they make excellent gifts. Instead of serving a fruit salad at your next potluck or giving your partner a box of chocolates next Valentine's Day, treat the people in your life to a delicious, attractive, and homemade fruit bouquet.

Steps

Selecting Your Ingredients and Materials

1. Search for inspiration. Prior to purchasing your fruit, it can be helpful to have a plan or a general idea of what the finished product will look like—especially since the possibilities are endless! When you have a general idea of the size and design, you be able to more accurately estimate the type of fruit you need to purchase and how much of each kind you need to buy.
   • Make a bouquet with nothing but strawberries. Craft a more complex bouquet out of all different types of fruits, like pineapple, watermelon, and muskmelon. Cut your fruit into unique shapes, such as stars, balls, and animals. Transform your fruit into a replica of a baby, bride, or one of your favorite characters.
   • If you are not a visual person, it may be helpful to conduct a quick internet search for examples of fruit and floral arrangements. Allow these images to inspire your vision for the fruit bouquet. You may find or draw a design that roughly resembles a floral display, and then have fun imagining which fruit will replace the flowers.
   • If you’re not a planner, feel free to design the bouquet as you are creating it.
2. Select your fruits. When you choose fruits, there are several factors to consider. Does the fruit brown quickly? Is the fruit hardy enough to stay on a skewer? Do the colors of the fruit complement each other and or your theme? Popular fruits for edible arrangements include:
   • Berries: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries
   • Melon: watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew
   • Citrus fruits: oranges, mangos, and pineapple
   • Grapes
3. Avoid fruits that brown. Fruit bouquets are edible centerpieces. In order to keep your arrangement looking fresh and appetizing, do not include fruits that brown quickly. These fruits include:
   • Bananas
   • Pears
   • Apples
4. Consider adding sweets to your arrangements. Fruit pairs really well with sweet treats. You can elevate your fruit arrangement to a delectable dessert by dipping a portion of the fruit in milk, white, or dark chocolate. You may also wish to add mini-marshmallows or puffed cereal to your skewers.
5. Choose a base for your arrangement. Fruit bouquets are displayed in a variety of containers, including vases, cups, pots, and baskets. You can even use other fruit as a base, such as a melon or apple. Select a container that is appropriate for your party or gathering.

Prepping the Fruit and Making the Kabobs

1. Wash and dry the fruit. Prior to creating the individual stems of the arrangement, you should thoroughly wash and dry all of your fruit. Rinsing your fruit with water will remove dirt, grime, pesticides, and bacteria from the surface of the produce.
   • Individually rinse the melons, oranges, and mangos.
   • Place one type of berry or grape into a colander at a time. Rinse the fruit and the spread it out on paper towels or kitchen towels to dry.
2. Prep and cut the fruit. It is important that your edible bouquet is consumer friendly. Remove all inedible materials from the fruit, such as stems, seeds, and leaves.
   • Hull the strawberries. Use a knife to remove the stem and hull from the strawberries.
   • Remove the seeds from your muskmelon and honeydew.
   • Remove the stems from your grapes and berries.
   • If you are using fresh pineapple, cut off the ends of your fresh pineapple and then use a knife to remove the sides of the pineapple from the fruit.
3. Cut the fruit. Edible arrangements feature fruit that has been cut into both festive shapes, such as flowers, animals, and even letters, as well as traditional shapes, such as wedges or balls.
   • Instead of creating the festive shapes by hand, you can use cookie cutters to produce uniform, professional-quality cutouts. Select a variety of sharp edged cutting cutters that match the theme of your event.
   • Create pineapple cutouts. Cut the fruit into ¾ inch thick slices. Place the sliced pineapple in the freezer for one hour. Remove the fruit from the freezer and use the cookie cutters to transform the pineapple into fun shapes.
   • Create melon cutouts. Slice the melon into ¾ inch thick slices. Cut fun shapes out of the melon with cookie cutters.
   • Slice the melon. Sliced melon is a great gap filler. Leave the rind on the melon. Cut it into slices or wedges. Instead of a traditional knife, you can use a scalloped garnish tool to cut the melon.
   • Ball the melon. Use a melon baller to create uniform balls of fruit.
   • Cut oranges, mangos, apples, pears, or kiwis into slices or wedges.
4. Dip the fruit in chocolate. To appease those with a sweet tooth, you may wish to dip some of the fruit in chocolate.
   • Melt the chocolate in the microwave or on the stovetop in a double boiler.
   • Use toothpicks to dip your fruit into the melted chocolate.
   • Set the dipped fruit on a sheet of wax paper.
   • Once all the items are dipped, move the fruit to the refrigerator and allow the chocolate to set for 15 minutes.
5. Assemble the skewers. After all of your fruit is washed, prepped, and cut, the fun of creating designs out of the fruit can begin. Don’t stress about this part of the process—there is no right or wrong way to assemble a fruit skewer. You may use any size and type of food safe skewer, from a toothpick to a wooden kabob stick; you have the freedom to arrange the fruit in any order or combination you choose. As you create, just make sure to leave enough space on the end of the skewer to stick into the base. Common combinations include:
   • Alternating colors of grapes and or berries.
   • Pineapple and melon flowers. Slide a melon ball, marshmallow, or strawberry to the top of the skewer (the non-pointy end). Next, slide a few different sized melon and or pineapple flower cut outs onto the skewer. Fill the remaining space with grapes or berries.
   • Melon wedges.
   • A single chocolate covered strawberry or a chocolate covered strawberry followed by a row of mini-marshmallows.

Putting Together the Fruit Arrangement

1. Prepare the base. Insert a piece of floral foam, Styrofoam ball, or a head of lettuce into the container—all of the skewers will be stuck into this item. Use toothpicks to attach decorative tissue paper or dark leafy greens to the surface of the floral foam, Styrofoam ball, or head of lettuce.
   • If you use floral foam, you can place parsley on top of the floral foam to fill in any gaps that can be seen between the skewers.
   • Do not let the florist's foam come into direct contact with the food. Wrap the foam completely in plastic wrap.
2. Insert the skewers into the base. When you are arranging fruit, or flowers, your goal is to create an even and aesthetically pleasing bouquet. Insert your tallest skewers of fruit into and near the center of your base. As you work your way to the outer edges, the skewers should decrease in height.
3. Assess the arrangement. Periodically step back and evaluate the arrangement. Remove any skewers that seem out of place. Fill in all of the gaps with additional skewers. Continue the process until you are satisfied with the arrangement.
   • You may need to skewer additional fruit to fill in the gaps.
4. Store and or transport the arrangement. After you have assembled the arrangement, wrap the fruit bouquet in plastic wrap or a cellophane gift bag . Transfer the arrangement from your workspace to the fridge. Pull the fruit bouquet out of the fridge 5 minutes prior to the party or moments before you intend to deliver it. If you are transporting the arrangement in a vehicle, place the edible centerpiece in a cardboard box and fill the empty space with bags, clean towels, or tissue paper.

Tips

• Try to make the arrangement the day you intend to serve or gift it.
• Use sturdy fruits in your bouquet. The best fruits are strawberries, pineapples, melons, mandarin oranges, mangoes and cantaloupes.
• You can assemble skewers of fruit and place them in a refrigerator prior to the event and arrange the bouquet right before serving.
• Be patient when creating the bouquet. It takes time to create an arrangement.
• Try to avoid handling the fruit, especially if the fruit is sculpted in any way; fingerprints or marks on the fruit is unappetizing.
• Wear gloves when handling fruit (or any food) that will not be further prepared (cooked) before eating. This fruit is the finished product and will be eaten directly, even clean hands should not be touching the final product.

Warnings

• Be careful when cutting fruit shapes. Hold the knife steadily and make sure your fingers are out of the way when you begin to cut the fruit.
• Raspberries and other soft berries are difficult to work with when not at a hard consistency.
• Make sure that the base container is food-grade, clean, and has not been contaminated with hazardous materials, such as paint or certain household-cleaners.
• Do not make edible fruit arrangements too far in advance of an event. Some fruits will brown or spoil when exposed to the air for extended periods of time.

Things You'll Need

• Various fruits
• Cutting board
• Knife
• Cookie cutters
• Base, such as a flower pot or a mug
• Florist's foam or head of lettuce
• Clear plastic wrap
• Tissue paper or leafy greens
• Toothpicks
• Kabobs
• Additional garnishes

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Sources and Citations

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