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Friday, August 24, 2018

How to Make an Edible Fresh Fruit Bouquet

Let's get crafty and create an edible fruit bouquet to decorate your holiday table
Delicious, fresh and so fun to make

Calling all creative peeps out there. Here is something for you! Something you can handcraft for your next party...maybe this coming holiday weekend?!?
I know what you might be thinking - why all this work on a fruit platter?!?
But I say - WHY NOT?!? It's simply perfect: it's healthy (just fruit). And fresh (it's summer, and it's still sweating hot!). And cheap (it would cost you a fortune to buy one of these). And most of all, it's absolutely stunning. 
Just LOOK at this! No words needed.
And yes, I have to admit, it is does take quite a bit of work, especially the first time you try it out, maybe a couple of hours or more, depending on your craft skills :)
But you know me (if not, here is something you should know). I always like to tackle any project, rise to the challenge, and step up to the plate (or vase! in this specific case). Haha! And I will not, under any circumstances,  admit defeat...  especially in the kitchen ;)
Technically there's nothing hard about this project, a lot of cutting, poking on a stick, and placing stuff in a nice and neat way. 
It's super fun, and it can be done the day before. All you have to do is spray the fruit with lemon juice and store in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap. Oh,  make sure you have enough room in there ... it takes up a lot of space with vase and all!
Here are some things to keep in mind. 
For the vase and floral foam you can use any shape and size, just make sure it's sturdy enough - the fruit will be quite heavy. 
For the big flowers I only use pineapple, but I've tested with other fruit, like watermelon. The good thing about pineapple is the middle hard/core part of the slice. This is hard enough to nicely stay on the skewer and hold the middle melon ball. If you use watermelon (or any other melon), the flower will eventually slide down the skewer and will NOT stay in place for very long. If you really want to use other fruit, make sure to have something hard to place under the flower (maybe a grape, or even better, a small piece of watermelon peel) that will hold up the flower.  
For the center of the flower you can really use anything... cantaloupe, mango, peach ... what you like best that can be cut with a melonballer. 

Ready to try it out too?!? Here is a short video for you to watch

What you'll need:

    • 1 vase (big enough for the floral foam, and sturdy enough to hold the fruit)
    • 1 brick of floral foam (I bought mine with the vase at Michael's)
    • aluminum foil to cover the foam
    • bamboo skewers, long and short (or just long and you can cut them to the desire length)
    • melon baller
    • flower shaped cookie cutter
    • 1 pineapple
    • 1/4 of cantaloupe melon
    • about half honeydew melon
    • strawberries (about 1 lb)
    • lemon juice

PREPARATION:

    Find a sturdy enough vase and a floral foam that fits in the vase. You might have to cut the foam to make it fit in the vase.
    Make sure it fits tightly inside. Add pieces of foam on the sides for a snuggle fit. Press down.

    Cover the foam with a piece of aluminum foil so that the fruit will not come in contact with the foam.
    Slice the pineapple in thick slices (1 inch, or about  the height of your cookie cutter). I made six slices with mine.
     
    Cut with the largest flower shaped cookie cutter that fits inside the pineapple slice.
    With the melon baller, cut one ball of cantaloupe for each slice of pineapple (6 in my case) for the center of each flower.
    Cut the honeydew melon in slices. Cut each slice in half.
    Wash and dry the strawberries.
    Arrange the fruit on the vase starting with the green honeydew. You need bamboo skewers that are about one inch longer than the vase (you might need to cut the skewers to the right size). Arrange the honeydew wedges around the edges of the vase.
    Combine each pineapple slice with a melon ball on long skewers.  
     Arrange the flowers as you wish. Make it pretty!
     Add as many strawberries as you wish to cover all the holes. Start with some strawberries on short skewers in the middle.
    And add some strawberries on longer skewers on top. Arrange as you like it best and have fun with it!
    Spray with lemon juice to make it last longer. I stored mine overnight in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap.
    Enjoy :)

    PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD: How to make an edible fresh fruit bouquet

     










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