Fruit Bouquet, Amazing Valentine's Day Idea

Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, treating a sweet tooth or simply want WOW, they truly are one of the most unique gifts you'll come across in more ways than one. And, they make the perfect dessert - whether it's at your dinner table or to take to a dinner party – you'll be welcomed with open arms!

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF SENDING FRUITS

Not only is fruit delicious, but it is nutritious, too! Vegetables and fruits are part of a healthy daily diet and can reduce the risk for heart disease including strokes and heart attacks. Fruits are all natural and are naturally cholesterol free. Oranges and other fruits high in vitamin C help keep body tissues healthy, while bananas and other fruits high in potassium help maintain healthy blood pressure. 

Here is a fruit bouquet recipe from scoochmaroo.

Make your own edible arrangement quickly and cheaply with this easy tutorial.  

You'll also need:

• Skewers - I ended up using two different sizes, but a pair of good scissors will suffice!
• A vessel to make the arrangement is - not too tall, and something kind of wide and opaque.  I started off with a clear vase, but you could see all the skewers through it, and that was not attractive.  I ended with a white tea pot.
• Some clay or foam to stick the skewers in  (optional, really - it didn't serve me at all)
• Chocolate for dipping (also optional)
• Parsley to fill in as greenery

If you can get strawberries, they can really make this arrangement pop.

Clean them well and skewer them.  I cut the tops off of mine because they were white, and I didn't like the way that looked.  (Granted, the fact that  I can find strawberries in February at all is quite something, so I'm not complaining.)  

I really really wish I hadn't cut those tops off.   I ended up using a blueberry on the skewer to try and keep them from sliding down the points.  It didn't work.  Don't cut the tops off :D

I love fresh pineapple, and it's a large enough fruit that it provides you quite the palette to play with.

To test the freshness of a pineapple, pull the leaves from the top.  If they come away easily, you've got your self a good one.

Slice the pineapple in 1/2" (1 - 1.5cm) or so slices.  Then, using a cookie cutter or knife, you can cut these slices into whatever shapes suit your fancy.  

I happened to have a flower and a heart cookie cutter, and they both worked perfectly.

To make the flower, I skewered the center of the pineapple and used a blackberry for the center.  Here's a tip:  blackberries bleed.  Next time I'll use a melon ball. 

You can dip any or all of your fruits in the chocolate.  Make sure they are as dry as you can get them, as any water in the chocolate will turn it against you.  I stuck with strawberries I'd dried in a paper towel. Continue cutting and styling your array of fruit however it suits your fancy.

Use taller skewers in the center, and shorter ones to the outside.  Experiment with different angles to fill out the shape.

I made sticks of blueberries to try and emulate hyacinth.  They were delicious.  I also added some crescents of cantaloupe and stems of blackberries to fill out the arrangement.  Finally,  I added sprigs of parsley to fill in the space between the skewers.  

After this experiment, I have much more respect for the people who make these arrangements professionally.  Though it cost me a fraction of the price and took very little time, I succeeded in making an enormous mess of my kitchen, and have yet to perfect the art of arrangements.