Fruit Gift Baskets

Fruit Gift Baskets Buying Guide

Fresh, Dried or Dipped: Picking the Right Kind of Fruit Gift

Start with timing and distance. Fresh fruit is the showpiece, but it asks more of both you and the recipient.

• Fresh fruit tastes best and looks the most generous, but it's perishable, ships on a limited schedule and needs someone to unpack it promptly.
• Dried fruit keeps for weeks or months sealed, travels well and suits clients, care packages and busy households. Dried apricots and some other fruits are often treated with sulfites to hold their color, so check the label if the recipient is sensitive.
• Freeze-dried fruit is crisp and very light, which kids and hikers tend to love.
• Chocolate-dipped fruit is the treat option. Fresh dipped strawberries last only a day or two, so a local chocolatier is usually the best source, while dipped dried fruit keeps for weeks. Our chocolate gift baskets page covers heat-safe shipping.

Cut-fruit arrangements shaped like bouquets are a separate category. They're made to order by local shops and need refrigeration, so plan for them to be eaten within a couple of days.

What's in Season: Pears, Citrus and Beyond

Fruit gifts follow the harvest, and buying in season gets you better flavor and a wider choice.

• Fall and early winter: apples and pears. Comice, Bosc and Anjou pears are harvested in late summer and fall and are prized holiday gifts; Harry & David built its reputation on Comice pears from Oregon.
• Winter into spring: citrus. Navel oranges, grapefruit, mandarins and tangelos peak in the cold months, and a few specialty varieties are available for only several weeks.
• Summer: cherries, peaches and berries. They're delicate and short-lived, so summer fruit gifts ship fast and sell for a brief season.

That makes November through February the busiest, best-stocked stretch for fruit gifts. For a summer birthday, dried fruit or a mixed gourmet gift basket often arrives in better shape than fresh produce.

Pairings that round out a fruit basket

Pears and blue cheese are a classic match, crisp apples love a sharp cheddar, and dried figs or dates sit happily beside manchego or aged gouda. Toasted almonds or walnuts add crunch, and a small jar of honey ties the whole board together.

Ripening and Storage Tips to Pass Along

Tuck a short note in with the card so the recipient enjoys every piece at its best.

1. Pears ripen off the tree. Leave them at room temperature, then press gently near the stem. When the neck gives slightly, the pear is ready; move ripe pears to the fridge to hold them a few more days. Bartletts turn from green to yellow as they ripen, while most other varieties barely change color.
2. Citrus is ripe on arrival. It keeps about a week on the counter and several weeks in the refrigerator's crisper drawer.
3. Apples prefer the cold. Refrigerate them away from other produce, since apples give off ethylene gas that speeds ripening in their neighbors.
4. Unpack right away. Take fruit out of plastic wrap, remove any bruised pieces so they don't spoil the rest, and wash fruit just before eating rather than before storing it.

Shipping Fresh Fruit: Timing, Weather and State Rules

Fresh fruit is a race against the calendar, so a little planning goes a long way.

• Ship early in the week. Many growers ship only on certain weekdays so fruit doesn't sit in a warehouse over the weekend. Check the ship days on the listing.
• Make sure someone is home. Fruit left on a porch can freeze in winter or overheat in summer, so a weekday office address can be the safer choice.
• Check state restrictions. Fresh produce is subject to agricultural rules meant to stop plant pests and diseases from spreading. Some states, such as Hawaii, Alaska and California, can restrict certain fruit shipments, and citrus is a common example. Look for a list of excluded states before you check out.

If the address is off-limits for fresh fruit, dried fruit or a shelf-stable basket usually makes a graceful substitute, and it can be sent early with far less risk of spoilage.