When Making a Fruit Basket, Buy the Best Fresh Fruit You Can Find
You’ll want to buy fresh fruit from the local farmer’s market or directly from orchardists in your area. If those aren’t accessible, go to a local grocery store that you know to have the best produce. Buy lots of fruit varieties including apples, oranges, pears, grapefruit, etc. Examine the fruit selection carefully and hand pick only the biggest pieces without bruises and blemishes. If there are any exotic fruits like pineapple, mango, and kiwi, pick up those too as they can make good accent fruits for your fruit gift basket. If you want to include smaller, more perishable fruits like strawberries and blueberries, you’ll need to also purchase a hard container to protect them from getting damaged.
What Other Items Can I Put in a Fruit Basket?
In addition to fruit, you can add flavored mixed nuts, milk chocolate covered cherries, summer sausages, award winning garlic cheeses, dark chocolate covered almonds, yogurt covered pretzels, smoked salmon, pistachios, dried fruit, gourmet popcorns, honey wheat crackers, raspberry preserves, shortbread, salsas, chocolate covered toffee, a bottle of sparkling cider or wine, or any other gourmet items. If you know of a favorite food, even something as simple as a Twix candy bar, be sure to include that as it shows that you had your recipient in mind when you made the gift basket.
What About the Basket Itself?
A lot of people will find a simple wicker basket at a thrift store for their fruit basket gift. But remember, the basket itself will be the only thing left after the fruit and gourmet items are gone. High quality keepsake baskets will be put in your recipient’s living room as a reminder of your kindness, cheap ugly ones will be thrown away quickly. So spend a few extra dollars on a nice basket and it will be showcased and be a reminder periodically of how much you care. Remember the value of a gourmet fruit basket is worth much more than just the dollar amount you spend. » Read more: How to Make a Fruit Basket
