This is certainly the time for fruit salad, although it means different things to different people. Some use a simple syrup of sugar and water, others use ginger, lime juice, sour cream, gelatin and even — ugh — that chemical cocktail called non-dairy whipped topping.
To me, fruit salad means lots of fresh fruit with minimal dressing. I use only honey and lemon juice, a combination that lets the fruit flavors dominate. The lemon juice also helps to prevent browning.
This simple version reminds me of the fruit atop the soft-serve frozen yogurt at 40 Carrots in Bloomingdale’s. Sometimes I put plain Greek-style yogurt in the ice cream machine and make my own soft-serve, then sprinkle sunflower seeds on the fruit. It’s not exactly the same because Bloomie’s is said to use Frogurt, impossible to find here. It’s similar to Pinkberry’s, but those shops are just in California and New York, so I can only come close to replicating it.
But even on its own, this fruit salad hits the spot and at this time of year I’ve always got a big container of it in the fridge, ready for snacking and desserts.
Ella’s Fruit Salad
Use as many or as few as you wish. I use what looks best at the market and is priced right.
Any melons, cut up or scooped with a melon baller
Watermelon, cut up or scooped with a melon baller
Seedless grapes, cut in half if large
Cherries, pitted and halved
Blueberries
Blackberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Bananas, sliced diagonally
Peaches, pitted and diced or sliced
Plums, pitted and diced or sliced
For the dressing, use an approximate ratio of three parts honey to one part fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Let the sweetness of the fruit be your guide. Toss well and serve, garnishing with mint if desired.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Being raised in California, a big bowl of fruit salad in the fridge was part of everyday life, especially during late summer. Although my mother used the Fruit Fresh to prevent browning, had she known in the day, no doubt she would have opted for the much cheaper powdered Ascorbic Acid in the absence of a lemon.
A summer fruit salad is in my opinion something holy, a celebration of the gifts of the earth, the color and robust health which spring from the ground, and the simplicity is itself beautiful, the minimal processing and additions sing a sweet testament to the earth’s bounty, goodness, and sweetness.
A joyous and vibrant entry. Thank you!
Blue Smoke of Paradise’s last blog post..For My Father
Oh you have me feeling so fruity (in a good way). I would love to eat it, of course, but the pic looks good enough to frame on the kitchen wall. Do you actually have a melon balller?
MusEditions’s last blog post..Arizona: way to go! Mars Lander: you?re all wet!
@ blue – Thank you so much. Fresh fruit really is a gift, isn’t it?
Ascorbic Acid is also a wonderful dough conditioner and is allowed to be used in baguettes in France. When I remember, I crush a Vitamin C tablet and use a pinch of it in breads I make with all-purpose flour. (Gold Medal’s bread flour already has Ascorbic Acid.) I wonder if a crushed tablet would work with fruit as well as Fresh Fruit does?
Muse – And thank you, my friend! I use my melon baller more often than you might imagine. It’s fabulous for removing the seeds from pears and makes the cutest little ice cream balls, for when cuteness counts.