Fruit Recipes | Edible Fruit

National Strawberry Day – February 27

February 25, 2015 Edible fruits, Fruit Recipes

On February 27, 2015 the country will be celebrating National Strawberry Day. The day is dedicated to one of the most popular fruits in the world. The red, delicious and delicate strawberry. Though the cold of winter is still brutally present, spring is right around the corner and the strawberry, the taste of spring, will be arriving shortly as one of the first fruits to make an appearance. National Strawberry Day reminds us, and gives us hope, that spring is right around the corner.

Don’t miss out on the celebration this year with some toast and strawberry jam, a strawberry smoothie or a big bowl of fresh strawberries and ice cream. Fresh strawberries might be in short supply but don’t forget that dried or frozen strawberries can be delicious as well.

Try some of these recipes for your strawberry celebration:

5-Minute Healthy Strawberry Frozen Yogurt (frozen)
Dark Chocolate Strawberry Shortbread Cookies (jam)
Easy Crepes with Jam Fruit Preserves (jam)
Fresh Strawberry Cobbler (fresh)
Fresh Strawberry Water (fresh)
Jam Kolache Cookies (jam)
Skinny Strawberry Banana Ice Cream (frozen)
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake (fresh)
Strawberry Coffee Cake Muffins (fresh)
Strawberry Dump Cake (frozen)
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Bars (frozen)

Chocolate Dipped Fruit Recipe

Whether you’re going to a holiday celebration or are in the mood for homemade chocolate dipped fruit. The taste of a chocolate hard shell enveloping a piece of ripe fruit tickles the palate with hints of sweet and juicy pleasures. But making chocolate dipped fruit tends to be a little tricky. From selection to its preparation, this recipe explains how to make chocolate dipped fruit:

Chocolate Dipped Fruit Passion Recipe

The key to creating juicy, mouthwatering chocolate dipped fruit is in the fruit and chocolate selection. Start with premium dark or milk chocolate chips or chocolate bar and handpicked ripe, scar-free, fresh fruit.

The tastiest chocolate dipped fruit choices are strawberries, cherries, and pineapples.

Ingredients:

12 pieces of fresh fruit (strawberries, cherries and/or pineapples)
One-12 oz dark or milk chocolate bar

Utensils

Aluminum foil
Fork
Bowl
Toothpicks (optional)

1) Fruit preparation will depend on the fruit you select. Slice pineapple pieces in half-inch pieces. Clean strawberries and cherries and place in the freezer for ten minutes.

2) While the fruit is chilling, cover a platter in aluminum foil.

3) Next, chop the first 4 ounces of the chocolate bar and place in a microwaveable bowl and cover. Heat the chocolate at 40 second intervals to mix and reheat until it is completely smooth.

4) Remove four pieces of fruit from the freezer and dip each piece in chocolate, transferring it to the platter and then finally returning the chocolate dipped fruit to the freezer to chill for 12 to 15 minutes.

If the bowl of chocolate thickens, return it to the microwave for a few seconds.

5) Repeat, using batches of 4 ounces of chocolate until all the fruit is covered and placed in the freezer.

6) After 15 minutes, move the chocolate dipped fruit to the refrigerator. To prevent the chocolate from melting and becoming gooey, remove from the refrigerator just 30 minutes before serving.

Ghirardelli Chocolate is one of the recommended brands for this chocolate hand dipped recipe.

To prepare healthy chocolate dipped fruit with fewer calories and the highest antioxidants, use dark chocolate with a minimum of 53 percent cacao.

Thanksgiving Dinner: Easy Recipes With the Fresh Fruit Bouquet

November 25, 2014 Edible fruits, Fruit Recipes, Fruit Tips, Thanksgiving Day

A party platter sized fresh fruit bouquet makes a spectacular centerpiece for the Thanksgiving Day Dinner, at least until it’s time to carve the turkey. Before the big meal, allow guests to snack on the fresh fruit platter. It shouldn’t ruin anyone’s appetite.

After dinner, instead of allowing the last skewers to go to waste, consider these easy Thanksgiving Day Dinner recipes with the fresh fruit bouquet remnants:

Fruit Bouquet Parfait Recipe

The remaining pieces of the fruit are ripe for an ice cream parfait.

Ingredients:

Pieces of the fruit bouquet
Ice cream
1 tablespoon of sugar (optional)
Whipped cream

Cut the remaining pieces of fresh fruit bouquet into smaller cubes, discarding any brown pieces. In a parfait glass, spoon in a heaping tablespoon of fruit. Next, top the fruit with a layer of ice cream, alternating layers of fruit and ice cream until the parfait glass is full. Finally add whipped cream on top.

Fresh Fruit Bouquet Smoothie Recipe

The remnants of the fruit bouquet are juicy and healthy in a smoothie.

Ingredients

Pieces of the fresh fruit bouquet
1/4 cup of chopped ice (use 1/3 cup of chopped ice for every cup of fruit
½ cup of vanilla ice cream

Toss the remaining cubes of edible fruit into the blender. Add chopped ice and a spoon of vanilla ice cream. Then, press the puree button for 20 seconds. Change the blender’s setting to ‘whip’ for 30 seconds. Pour the edible fruit bouquet contents into several high ball glasses. Place a straw in the center of each glass and place in the freezer until ready to serve – 1- 2-hours. (Don’t allow the smoothie to freeze.)

Frozen Fresh Fruit Bouquet Cup

The same idea is applicable to creating frozen snacks for children. Instead of using a glass, divvy up the contents of the soon to be frozen, fresh fruit bouquet into several plastic cups. Then freeze for four hours and – ENJOY!

Fruit for Thanksgiving?

November 11, 2014 Edible fruits, Fruit Recipes, Fruit Tips

When you think of Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green bean casserole, corn and rolls usually come to mind, but what about fruit? We all know that fruit is an important part of any healthy diet and should be offered at every meal, but for some reason it’s frequently missing from the Thanksgiving table. What can we do about that? How can we add fruit to the Thanksgiving menu?

Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

Cranberry Relish – combine fresh cranberries, an orange, an apple and a carrot, grind them all together and mix in a little sugar or sweetner to taste.

If you offer a salad bar, be sure to include fruit such as pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries and Mandarin orange slices.

Many families enjoy a fruit salad at summer reunions, why not add one to the Thanksgiving menu? Here are a few links to recipes you might want to try:

For dessert or an appetizer offer a fruit tray with sliced pineapple, banana, apple, Clementines, kiwi, pears and something more exotic like maybe papaya or star fruit.

For dessert consider an angel food cake or cheesecake with a variety of fresh fruits to add as toppings.

When setting the table consider using fruit as the centerpiece. You can order a fresh fruit bouquet or you can simply use beautiful fresh fruits from the market. Martha Stewart recommends fruit as a Thanksgiving centerpiece here.

National Cherry Turnovers Day – August 28

August 25, 2014 Edible fruits, Fruit Recipes

August 28 is the annual celebration of National Cherry Turnover Day! Cherry turnovers are delicious pockets of portable cherry pie that can be enjoyed for breakfast or as a dessert later in the day.

Cherry turnovers are typically made by putting a gooey cherry filling on half a puff pastry, folding the puff pastry in half to seal the filling in and then baking it until golden brown. There are a number of variations in cherry turnover recipes and ingredients. You might just have to sample several different kinds to determine which you like best.