How to make an Edible Arrangement?!
Answers: I would like to send edible arrangements for my family and husband for Valentines Day, but dont want to spend the money to go through the company..so i am going to try to make them myself. I am wondering if anyone has even done this and if so how. Serious Answers only!!
Are you looking for fruit, cookies, cupcakes? Can you be a little more specific? I have done this with all three.
Okay. Strawberries are a little more difficult that mixed fruit, but it can be done. First, go to your craft store and get the size floral foam. Soak it according to the directions. Next poke holes in it with a toothpick all over. Put sprigs of mint in the holes so the whole foam is covered in greenery.
As for the strawberries, each person has a different method. Generally I just melt white and dark chocolate and dip the berries. You can add food coloring and/or extra flavorings to the white chocolate for different colors and flavors. Dip the berries, already attached to a shish kebab skewer. If you're looking for a garden effect soak the skewers in food coloring and water for an hour or so and let them dry. They will turn a nice bright green. Arrange your berries the way you like.
Since you are only using berries you might want to add some edible flowers on the bottom for effect.
Depending on what you want to use, whether its sweets like cookies and candies, or veges, you'll need the some of the following:
1. Wooden skewers
2. Metal skewers
3. Cookie cutter shapes
4. A good knife
5. A basket or container
6. Something to line the bottom with, such as colorful paper shreds or florist fern
Something easy:
1 large Pineapple
3 Kiwi fruit
2 Starfruit
1 cantelope
1 box strawberries
2 bananas
Marachino cherries
You can skewer some of the fruits and push the skewers into the pineapple. You can also cut the cantelope into shapes and skewer it with some of the starfruit and kiwi's. Alternate colors with shapes and sizes. Each person can remove a skewer and dip into melted chocolate or a marshmallow yogurt sauce.
Good luck and have fun!
I have not done it , but was at a dinner when the Hostess placed a fruit centrepiece that was cut to resemble a floral arrangement made with watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew and strawberries. It was beautiful and tasty.
Here is a web site that will give you instructions for just that with pictures. "How to Make an Edible Fruit Bouquet" Type this into your search browser and you can see for yourself.
Good Luck with this project.
More ideas:
http://www.edibleblooms.com/
i worked there for a long time, luckily not anymore. Get a bowl, a head of lettuce, and some kale leaves.
core the head of lettuce, and crush it a bit by putting your weight on one side, then turning it over and doing the same on the other. put it on the bowl. take the kale leaves (they need to be fresh, so that the leaves are opened up wide) and stick them around the bowl with the stems wedged in between the rim and the lettuce.
you will need skewers, and fruit. slice the melon in half, each half in half again, and then cut wedges from the halves. stick a skewer into the wide end, so they are triangle shaped with point on opposite end of the skewer.
use cookie cutters to cut shapes from pineapple slices, and skewer as well.
i recommend using strawberries, canteloupe, pineapple, grapes. arrange the skewered fruit into the head of lettuce, sticking them in at a 90 degree angle, and try not to move them around (twisting, or taking out to move the skewer to a different spot) as this will make a big hole in the head of lettuce.
you can stack up the grapes on a skewer, 5 or so on one. go to www.ediblearrangement.com to see examples.
also, for the dipped strawberries- rinse the berries in water. --VERY important-- dry them well with paper towels! if you dont dry them well enough, the chocolate will slide right off. stick a skewer through the top, right in the middle of the stem.. hold the skewer kind of like a pencil, very close to the strawberry, holding the leaves of the berry against the skewer so it wont slip off when you dip it. melt dark chocolate at about 150 degrees for about 20 minutes, stirring well every so often. when it is completely melted, no chunks, you are ready to dip.
Find a suitable container....something shaped like a flower pot is good. (or buy a plastic flowerpot and paint it red with white hearts...you can also use ready-made stickers to decorate it). Fill the container with floral foam. Insert long skewers into your strawberries and dip in chocolate. Insert your strawberries into the foam, arranging them as you would a bouquet of flowers. Tuck some shredded basket filling around the skewers at the bottom to cover the foam. Wrap the whole thing in clear basket wrap and tie with a big red bow for presentation.
Have fun!