Edible fruit-flower arrangements: a delicious gift idea

Tired of giving roses or lilies? Opt for an edible fresh fruit “flower” arrangement instead for a memorable gift.

If you’re in search of something different to give your child’s teacher at the end of the school year, or your colleague who just landed a well-deserved promotion, perhaps an edible fruit flower arrangement is the answer.

...and guess what? They’re easy to make.

Thankfully, edible arrangements truly range in how elaborate they can be. They can be as simple as a beautiful bowl of fresh fruit wrapped in cellophane and topped with a bow. Or you could go further and fashion some flowers out of chocolate-dipped fruit to create a yummy arrangement.

• Getting started couldn’t be simpler. Start by shopping for fresh fruit the day of or the evening before you’re giving the arrangement.
• Look for ripe but not bruised or damaged fruit and keep an eye out for contrasting colours.

Before you go fruit shopping, look around your kitchen for some tools that will come in handy, including kitchen shears or scissors, bamboo skewers, flower-shaped cookie cutters, knives, and melon ballers.

• If you don’t have these, head to your local kitchen supply store to pick them up.
• Then stop by a florist’s or craft store, for floral foam or clay to anchor your arrangement in a vase.

Next, shop for fruit that can easily be cut.

• Think melons like watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew, grapes, strawberries, pineapple and even more exotic fruits such as dragon fruit or starfruit.
• If you’re also dipping fruit into chocolate you’ll need some bars of milk or dark chocolate and possibly some white chocolate for contrast.

1. Slice your fruit to about ½ inch thick.
2. Lay the slices out on your cutting board and press flowers out of each slice, using cookie cutters. Go for one hard, clean cut rather than pressing them in gently.
3. For the flower centres, you could try a strawberry half pressed in with a toothpick, scooped out melon balls, or halved grapes.
4. Spear your flowers onto the bamboo skewers, making sure they’re anchored securely, and tuck the centres of the flowers in with half a toothpick. Keep going, making multiple flowers.
5. Tuck them into the foam at the bottom of your vase. Anchor the different flowers in the vase at different angles and use your kitchen shears to make some shorter and longer flowers by trimming the sticks. Fill out the rest of the space with simple fruit wedges.

Note: If you’re dipping fruit into chocolate, do that first, allow chocolate to harden in the fridge and then carefully spear the pieces onto your bamboo sticks.

You sure can. Specialty fruit florists can be found and generally require orders be placed at least three days ahead of time.

• Bouquets generally keep for just over a day.