How A Bowl of Fruit Became a South Asian Love Language

Affection comes in a various forms, but for many, the purest gesture is freshly washed, cut, or prepared produce.

GettyImages-74043002 fruit bowl
Indian mangoes await a ceremony celebrating the opening of mango trade between the U.S. and India at the Commerce Department in Washington, May 1, 2007 (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Ayesha Le Breton

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March 20, 2024

Saara Chaudry’s TikTok of her dad bringing her cut fruit while studying got over 724,000 views. The caption read: “I swear…cutting fruit is all asians love language.” Hundreds flocked to the comments section in agreement. “All brown dads literally, so accurate,” said one user, while another wrote, “this is brown parents way of expressing love lol.”

Across generations, offering freshly cut fruit to loved ones seems to be the prime manifestation of love in Asian households. But how did this practice even come to be?

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