How to enjoy your fruit basket
A fruit and gourmet food basket can be a great gift to send or receive. It can also be overwhelming to enjoy if all of the fruit ripens at the same time. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy your fruit basket and get the most of your gift. Fruit baskets will vary greatly depending on the size of the original order and whether the gift order contained gourmet foods. By far the easiest baskets to consume are those which contain a mixture of fruits in various stages of ripeness along with gourmet foods. If appropriately designed the basket can be consumed over several weeks thereby extending the enjoyment of your gift.

Typically the basket will arrive with a mixture of red and green apples, oranges, bananas and an "exotic" fruit such as kiwi, pinapple or chermoya. Also, it may contain mixed nuts which are still in their shells. If you receive a mixture of this sort even much larger than you or your family can consume don't worry. The apples, oranges and kiwi can also be consumed over several weeks and stored in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. The pineapple should be left at room temperature until it is ripe. Test ripeness by pulling out a leaf or two, if it comes out easily and the bottom or stem end gives slightly it is ready to eat. Once ripe it can be cut and stored for approximately a week in the refrigerator. The nuts will keep for 6 to 8 months and can be consumed at will. Bananas will need to be consumed within a few days of becoming ripe (when most of the green on the skin has turned to bright yellow). If the bananas are ripening too quickly they may be placed in the refrigerator. The skins will become brown but it will not affect the quality of the fruit.

If your gift contained gourmet food stuff such as sausages, cheese, mustard, hard candies, chocolate, jelly, cracker or similar items you can enjoy the gift for weeks to come. The products used were most likely of the "shelf stable" variety and should be so marked and only need refrigeration once the package has been opened.