Fruit and Cheese Gift Baskets
Gift baskets are always a good alternative when trying to come up with a special present for friends or family for any occasion. Fruit and cheese go together very well and a basket loaded with gourmet cheeses and seasonal fruits matched to each other is a very classy combination.
Prepared Fruit and Cheese Baskets
You can find already designed fruit and cheese baskets to order on line and have them delivered directly to the recipient. When you use this type of service, you don’t generally have a choice as to what goes in the basket. This is especially true of the fruit. Even when they use fruits that are in season, you may not be able to rely on freshness or ripeness.
You also have to be careful about their delivery methods. Since the contents are perishable, they need to be packaged with ice or dry ice. This means that there are only certain days of the week they will ship and you may be required to pay the expensive next day delivery costs.
Put Together Your Own Fruit and Cheese Basket
Another drawback to the mail order gift baskets is that they often contain a lot of fruit and a little bit of cheese for a hefty price. So with everything I know about prepared fruit and cheese baskets, I usually make my own. I can handpick everything I want in the basket and spice it up with other little touches, too.
When putting together a gift basket like this, remember that the presentation can be as important as the contents. Pick out a nice basket that can be put to some use after the fruit and cheese are gone. There is no rule that says you have to use a typical wicker basket either. A nice metal basket lined with a colorful linen napkin or two makes a nice display. I have even used pretty ceramic fruit bowls for my collection of fruits and cheeses.
Don’t limit the contents to just the fruit and cheese. Add some crackers or a baguette of hard bread. How about a small box of dark chocolate? Chocolate and fruit go great together. You can make the gift even more special by adding a few other items that will last like a small cutting board and cheese knife. Consider a package of colorful paper napkins with pictures of fruit or cheese on them.
Fruit and Cheese Pairings
If you are going to the time, trouble, and expense to put together a fruit and cheese basket, don’t just grab any cheese and whatever fruit may be in season. You often hear wine experts talk about particular food and wine pairings – the right wine for a particular dish. Believe it or not, there are fruits that go better with certain cheeses as well. For instance:
- Fresh raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries are a great accompaniment for Brie and goat cheese.
- If pears are in season, combine those with cheeses like Parmesan and Pecorino.
- Green apples and Gruyere cheese from Switzerland are a great combination.
- One of the most traditional and well known fruit and cheese combinations is sharp cheddar cheese and sweet apples like Honey Crisp or Fuji.
Citrus fruits aren’t really a good combination with cheese, so stay away from oranges and grapefruits.
If not many fruits are in season when you are making your gift, you can always put in fruit spreads to fill out the basket. They go well with cheese and crackers. Some good examples are:
- Chutney – Chutney is made with dried fruits and spices. It matches will with cheddar and goat cheese.
- Quince paste – Quinces are a fruit that tastes like something between a sweet Golden Delicious apple and a pear. The paste is a spread that is quite sweet and pairs well with any cheeses because of their saltiness.
- The sugar and cinnamon in a jar of spiced apples makes them perfect to go with the usual cheddar cheeses, as well as Brie.
If you include fruit spreads in your basket, don’t forget to put in the crackers or some chewy bread.