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What is a Fruit Bouquet?

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

A fruit bouquet is an arrangement of whole and cut fruit which has been assembled so that it resembles a display of flowers. Fruit bouquets can be used as edible decorations at the table, and they are also given as gifts for holidays, birthdays, and other events. It is possible to make a fruit bouquet at home, and they can also be ordered from catering companies which specialize in edible arrangements of all shapes and sizes. Some grocery stores sell fruit bouquets or kits for making fruit bouquets, with an assemblage of cut fruit which people can take home and arrange as desired.

In a typical fruit bouquet, pieces of fruit are cut and stuck together with the use of skewers so that they look like flowers. For example, rings of pineapple might be cut into the shape of flowers, with melon balls or strawberries in the center of each “flower.” Garnishes like parsley might be used to add some depth and background to the display, along with smaller pieces of fruit cut or carved into floral shapes.

Cantaloupe, which is often used in fruit bouquets.
Cantaloupe, which is often used in fruit bouquets.

Some people arrange fruit bouquets in a vase or bowl, with a piece of styrofoam in the bottom to hold the skewers in place. Others may use another piece of fruit such as a cantaloupe as a container to hold the bouquet, sticking the skewers into the sides of the fruit. The bouquet may be further decorated with ribbons, edible gold and silver leaf, and other edible garnishes to add visual interest.

A fruit bouquet may feature a variety of whole and cut fruit, including apples.
A fruit bouquet may feature a variety of whole and cut fruit, including apples.

Any number of fruits can be used in a fruit bouquet. Many catering firms use a range of fruits to get a wide variety of colors, but it is also possible to create themed fruit bouquets, such as tropical arrangements with fruits like mangoes, coconuts, papayas, passionfruits, starfruits, and so forth. As a general rule, firm fruits which can be easily skinned or deseeded if necessary are ideal for arranging in a fruit bouquet, while softer fruits or fruits with clingy pits, seeds, and rinds tend not to fare as well.

Fruit bouquets often use uniquely shaped fruits like starfruit.
Fruit bouquets often use uniquely shaped fruits like starfruit.

Unlike a fruit basket, another type of fresh fruit gift, a fruit bouquet is extremely perishable. The fruit can be kept looking as fresh and firm as possible by being dunked in acidulated water or dressed in lemon juice to slow browning in the air, but the bouquet generally looks best within hours of being assembled. This edible decoration is best eaten quickly, as the fruit will otherwise start to brown, droop, dry out, and look rather unpleasant.

Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a DelightedCooking researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

andee
There is really no end to the creative ways you can display a fresh fruit bouquet. I once made one for the 4th of July using blueberries and strawberries which looked really festive.

Fresh fruit comes in so many bright colors, that these can be really eye-catching. I have also made fruit bouquet baskets where the bottom of the bouquet was a watermelon or cantaloupe that had been scooped out.

It takes some time and effort to make something like this, but I think it is always well spent. Almost everyone loves fresh fruit, and displaying it in the form of a bouquet makes it even better.

bagley79

I was looking for a unique gift to send to my mom and thought about a fruit bouquet, but wondered what it would look like when she received it.

I ended up going with a chocolate covered fruit bouquet which was perfect. She absolutely loved it! She loves chocolate, and the fruit was dipped and decorated with different kinds of chocolate.

I think the chocolate dipped fruit may hold up better than plain fruit if you are having them delivered, but they still needed to be eaten within a few days.

I have often wondered how hard it would be to keep a fruit bouquet delivery fresh, but this one came looking perfect. I think I may have paid as much for the delivery and handling fee as I did for the actual fruit, but it was a unique gift that she really enjoyed.

sunshined

I have always loved the look of a fruit bouquet, and think they look very appealing and appetizing. When I went online to see how much they cost, I was a little surprised at how expensive they were.

It really is a lot cheaper to make your own fruit bouquet. I know you can buy kits at the store for this, but you really don't even need these. All it takes are some skewers and some fresh fruit and a little bit of creativity.

My daughter and I had a lot of fun making one of these for my husband's birthday party. Right next to the fruit bouquet we had a fruit dip that you could spoon on to your plate to dip the fruit in.

This was a big hit and we didn't have any fruit left over at the end of the party. This is something I would definitely do again--especially when fresh fruit is in season.

SarahSon

We recently attended a wedding reception where they had an edible fruit bouquet in the middle of each table. This really added a nice touch to a summer wedding, but I didn't see very many people eating the fruit from the bouquet.

By the end of the evening some of the fruit that hadn't been eaten didn't look very appetizing. When I first saw the fruit bouquet on the table, I thought it was a great idea.

When I saw how much fruit was leftover by the end of the night, I felt like it was a lot of time and expense that could have been better spent. It may have been better to have had just one big fruit bouquet on the food line than to have a smaller one at each table.

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    • Cantaloupe, which is often used in fruit bouquets.
      By: Malyshchyts Viktar
      Cantaloupe, which is often used in fruit bouquets.
    • A fruit bouquet may feature a variety of whole and cut fruit, including apples.
      By: Anna Kucherova
      A fruit bouquet may feature a variety of whole and cut fruit, including apples.
    • Fruit bouquets often use uniquely shaped fruits like starfruit.
      By: canonac
      Fruit bouquets often use uniquely shaped fruits like starfruit.
    • Fruit bouquets may include bananas.
      By: Tim UR
      Fruit bouquets may include bananas.
    • Oranges may be part of a fruit bouquet.
      By: Dionisvera
      Oranges may be part of a fruit bouquet.