How to Make a Stunning Fruit Salad
At nearly every one of my family get togethers, someone brings a fruit salad. It is the easiest and most colorful way to round out a meal, whether it's a fancy prime rib or casual barbecue chicken.
Many people make the mistake of thinking their fruit salad needs to have sugar, pudding, or whipped cream added. We rarely do this; fruit is sweet enough, and it's harder to taste the unique flavors when it's masked by syrups and creams.
I love just cutting up a variety of fruit and letting the vibrant colors, textures, and flavors speak for themselves.
The fruit salad should be prepared the same day as the event, preferably shortly before the meal. If you do it a day or two before, the fruit will be soggy and mushy.
Time required: Roughly 5 minutes per fruit
Difficulty: easy
Cost: Cost varies depending on fruits used and time of year
Materials:
- Fruit (I like to plan on AT LEAST 1/2 cup per person, though our family will often eat 1 cup per person)
Tools:
- Cutting Board
- Sharp Knife
- Water (for washing fruit)
- Large Bowl or Serving Container
Instructions:
1. Choose at least 1 fruit from each color group.
Some examples:
Group 1 (Red)- Strawberries, apples (such as Red Delicious or McIntosh), raspberries, watermelon, cherries
Group 2 (Orange)- Oranges, peaches, nectarines, apricots, mangoes, cantaloupe
Group 3 (Yellow)- Pineapple, banana, apples (such as Yellow Delicious), pears
Group 4 (Green)- Grapes, apples (such as granny smith), kiwis, honeydew melon
Group 5 (Blue/Purple)- Blueberries, purple grapes, blackberries, plums2. Wash fruit. While washing, check for bugs or dirt.
3. Remove any stems, cores, or difficult to eat peels. Some fruit, such as apples, will look much better if not peeled.
However, fruits such as pineapples, kiwis, oranges, and mangoes will need to have their skins removed in order to be fully edible.
You don't want people to have to use their hands while eating the fruit salad. It's messy and annoying. Make sure any non-edible parts are removed.4. Cut fruit into bite-sized pieces, saving the fruit that will brown the most quickly (apples or bananas, for example) for last.
Also remove any brown or bruised areas from the fruit and discard.
Some fruits, such as blueberries and raspberries, will not require any cutting and can just be tossed in.5. Combine fruits and stir until fruit is evenly distributed throughout.
6. Cover and refrigerate until serving.
An apple corer (like the one shown above) is a handy tool for quickly getting the annoying part out of your fruit. You can also use this for pears as well.
If you are using strawberries in your fruit salad, pushing a plastic straw through the middle of each berry can help to quickly remove the stem and minimize food waste.
