What Your Valentine Really Wants Is Fancy Fruit
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Fruit baskets get a bad rap, in part because of how annoying it is to pick off little pieces of packaging paper and ribbon from an otherwise perfect pear, but also because they usually include some unnecessary accoutrements, like wooden honey dippers and crackers that look chic and taste sad.
But hear me out: What if you just sent the fruit, and it was really, really good fruit? Luckily, it’s never been a better time to enjoy mail-order citrus, berries, apples, avocados, and more, even in February.
Maybe you’re looking to treat your Valentine to the ultimate breakfast in bed — for that extra flourish, cut up the fruit; everyone loves nicely cut fruit — or need a last-minute gift that feels more unique than flowers. Or perhaps you want to get yourself a fruit subscription in the hopes that bright, fresh flavors will get you through the dreariest month of winter. Whatever your reasoning, these are the best mail-order fruit providers I’ve had the pleasure of trying.
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Wild blueberries are denser in nutrients than their grocery-store counterparts, but even if they weren’t overachievers in the fiber and antioxidant categories, they’d still be my favorite topping for yogurt, granola, and oatmeal. These tiny, tart berries from coastal Maine burst with flavor, and because they’re individually frozen after harvest, they never clump together, even after spending months in my chaotic home freezer.
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Marmalade Grove Grove Club Box
If you know the difference between a Cara Cara and a standard navel orange, Marmalade Grove’s Grove Club box, which ships the freshest citrus straight from sun-drenched Ojai, California, is for you. The farm also offers seasonal deliveries of Meyer lemons, oro blanco grapefruit, pixie and tango tangerines, and satsuma mandarins, as well as jarred marmalades that make use of each. Its website also features thoughtfully developed sweet and savoryrecipeideas that I’ve used long after I finished my fruit.
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Miami Fruit Variety Box
For a selection you’re not likely to find at your local supermarket, Miami Fruit ships all kinds of in-season tropical fruit from small South Florida growers. A variety box might include a cacao pod, eggfruit, sapote, guava, an heirloom banana cultivar (like creamy, lemony Orinoco or silky textured, vanilla-flavored Nam Wah), and a mango variety you’ve never seen before. The company also sells variety boxes for specific fruits, likebananasand those from the genusAnnona,or you can buy individual pieces — trywatermelon guava(Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang’sfavorite) orpassion fruit.
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This small farm out of Carpinteria, California, also focuses on tropical fruit, passion fruit specifically, in addition to offering cherimoyas and specialty citrus like Eureka lemons and blood oranges. The seasonal variety box brings a combination of these to your doorstep.
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Primavera Avocado Subscription
This family-owned farm has been growing Hass avocados in Southern California for almost 50 years and only ships them out during peak season, from February through June. Each box comes with seven to ten fruits (about 4 pounds’ worth). Use some to make the best avocado toast you’ve ever had — you’ll still have plenty for recipes that call for more fruit at a time, like avocado cream for baked goods or salad dressings. I slow down the avocados’ ripening by placing them in my fridge for a few days and find I have no problem getting through them (or sharing one or two with eager friends) well before they turn.
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There’s something delightful about getting mail that feels like a surprise, and I’ve found that Yes! Apples’ Apple of the Month box scratches that itch with perfectly ripe apple deliveries sourced from family-run orchards across upstate New York. It’s a great way to get familiar with less common varieties like SweeTango (bright and nutty with caramel notes, making them perfect for baking) and tart, juicy SnapDragon.
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Maui Gold Pineapple
Pineapple is one of the few fruits I typically buy precut, but that’s only because I don’t (currently) have a subscription to receive fruit from the Maui Gold Pineapple farm in Hāli‘imaile. The pineapples are shipped the day they’re harvested and don’t continue to ripen after picking, so it really doesn’t get fresher than this. It’s the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever tasted, and when I get one, I keep a few pieces tucked away in the freezer for a rainy-day smoothie.
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The Strategistis designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read abouthere. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
