Crusade Learning

Few things smell or taste better than plump fruit picked at the peak of perfection. So why not give the gift of good taste? These days, there are countless varieties of exotic and otherwise delicious fruits that are grown specifically to wow their lucky recipients: head-sized pears, hand-shaped lemons and even “star fruit.” In winter or in summer, a basket of fresh ripe fruit is sure to impress and delight.

Why give fresh fruit gift baskets? First, fruit is highly symbolic. Trees bare fruit just as parents bare progeny. Moreover, they are often associated with seduction, taking a page from Genesis – all of sin for an apple, if you remember. And last, since fruit are not only the product of trees but also themselves contain the seed for future trees, they are symbolic of children and parenting in one. Giving fruit can be considered the most thoughtful and symbolic gesture if it is given as a gift of congratulations (as congratulations mark the birth of something new), a gift celebrating a newborn, wedding, or engagement, or as a get well gift since fruit contains within it the nourishment to return to health. But the gift of fruit goes further than symbolism – it is just down right delicious. That’s why I often find myself giving fruit as a thank you gift, a housewarming gift, or a “just because” gift.

It used to be that you had to live in sunny California or Florida to give fruit that anyone cared about – unless you lived in New York or Georgia and could give apples or peaches. But these days, you don’t need to live next to the orchard or grove in order to give the gift of great-tasting fruit year round. Online gift basket companies put together some of the best fruit gift baskets I have ever seen. Filled with rare fruits like calamansi, buddha’s hands, Muscat grapes, and perfect peaches these baskets will impress not only with the quantity of rare fruits but also with the quality, as these companies pay a pretty penny to get their pick of the crop.

A word of advice: if you are looking to give the gift of fruit, order your gift basket from a company that specializes in gift baskets and not necessarily straight from the orchard. Though you’ll pay a premium, the recipient of your gift will appreciate it all the more. Gift basket companies are experts when it comes to arranging, packing, and shipping your fruit so that it is beautiful and perfectly fresh and ripe when it arrives to its destination, whereas groves or orchards really only specialize in growing fruit.