Fruit Salad

I have been enjoying your threads Koukouvagia,

No Grand Marnier ???... oh the grief.....

One dressing that comes to mind is an old stand by :

½ plain yogurt ( I like the Greek Yogurt : Chobani-thick,rich and wonderful,nothing beats it)

¼ mayo

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 tsp honey (depending how sweet you like it)

1 tsp vanilla

S & P

Or you can replace the vanilla and use coconut extract which I like to do from time to time and top off the salad with toasted coconut and whatever else you like to put in your fruit salad.

One of the fruit salads I make has:

Charentais melon ( scooped & balled), Asian pears, lychees (peeled and stoned) clementine segments, and kiwi , strawberries. Then I take a mango , make a puree, add honey , touch of cream . Fill champagne glasses with fruit , swirl mango puree over it and add mint leaf.

There is also poppy seed dressing. 

Fresh chopped mint is always the secret for mine...for me a "must have". From there its just a matter of taste and what kind of fruit you have. But I never met a fruit salad that wasn't improved by a little fresh chopped mint.

Orange juice, plain yogurt, clover honey. drop of red balsammic, touch of all spice

Personally, I'm not a fan of "creamy" dressings for fruit salad.  For me, if not using booze, it's usually lime juice, a touch of honey and fresh mint or lemon balm.

I like to add a simple sugar syrup hot to the fruit just after slicing it - it doesn't have to be much, but it has to be boiled and hot, and just pour it on and mix it in.  It makes the juices run while you refrigerate it and THAT, the pure flavor of the fruit, is the best dressing i can imagine.  Try it.  It makes the fruit taste come through in a surprising way.  I think because it cooks the outer layer of the fruit very slightly and enhances its own sweetness and perfume.  And it makes a nice juice at the bottom which for me is the essence of fruit salad. 

I would not add any flavor at all to a fruit salad, personally.  If i had to put a liqueur in it, it would probably be grand marnier or a framboise, but i actually prefer it without.  Creamy things just cover the nice juiciness of fruit. 

Try this marinated pine-apple salad;

Make a syrup with 50/50 suger/water and bring to a boil. Take from the fire and add a handful of fresh mintleaves and juice of 1/2 lemon. Leave to cool.

Remove the pine-apple core and put thin pine-apple slices in the syrup for as long as you want. Delicious, and an extra of vanilla icecream won't hurt either.

The pine-apple keeps for a few days when kept in the syrup in your fridge...

pineapple has an affinity to basil....really works well together.

don't forget midori liquor, it works too.

just remembered a french chef friend used to make a syrup with lemon, lime, orange zest in a juiced up simple syrup to put on sorbet/fruit.....very nice!

Lime juice/salt/cayenne is nice.  Also, minced or chiffonaded fresh oregano is terrific in fruit salad (not too much!)

I do honey, mint, one lime's juice and a splash of water in the blender.  I chop the mint before blending...simple and really good!

Interesting ideas :)

 I generally don't dress my fruit salads and just use the natural juices from the contents to moisten.  One of my favourties at the moment is diced watermelon, seedless green grapes halved, and tinned (oh no!) peaches diced up.  Some of the syrup from the can go into it and get tossed about, the grapes give off their own juice when halved.  With a dollop of thick, creamy, greek yoghurt - yummers!

Quote DCSunshine; ... and tinned (oh no!) peaches diced up.

Makes me think of the infamous Italian TV cook Carluccio who poached whole peaches first in white wine with an enormous amount of sugar. Then they were left to cool and served in that juice.

Also, the remaining juice was used to make a beautiful slightly pink colored sorbet!

I don't usually dress my fruit salads either but at the cafe we would serve grilled chicken with fruit salad and curry mayonnaise and it would sell out every time we had it as our salad of the day.

All you need for it is grilled boneless skinless chicken breasts (one per person), fruit salad, mixed salad greens, mayonnaise and a good quality curry powder.  A few hours before serving combine the curry powder with the mayonnaise.  I have always done this by sight and taste so it's best to add small amounts of curry to the mayo, taste as you go and stop when you are happy with it.  Chill to let the flavours combine.  Place mixed greens on the plate, then top with about two cups of fruit salad.  Slice the grilled chicken and place it on top of the fruit.  Put about three dollops of dressing on the plate and that's pretty much it! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koukouvagia 

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I have another question.  I'm planning on making fruit salad for easter and was wondering if you think it's ok to make it a day ahead? 

I would personally avoid it. Cut up fruit spoils very quickly (even in the fridge), and when left to simmer in its own juice can ferment and produce alcohol within a few hours. 

BTW I never dress a fruit salad, usually the natural juices of the fruit are enough, maybe add a bit of sugar, some of the juice of the oranges, and that's it. I also recommend experimenting with adding dried fruits (ex: raisins) and nuts (ex: walnuts). I rarely make fruit salad that doesn't contain at least bananas and dates. 

Most fruit will look awfull when done the day before.

One exception is my pine-apple carpaccio, basically the recipe as I posted before;

Boil half water, half sugar for a while, take away from the fire. While still very hot syrup; Add very thin slices pine-apple to the hot liquid. You can boil it for a while but the pine apple will turn tougher. Add a handful of mint leaves (do remove stalks and flowers, they taste awful!). Let the whole preparation cool in the liquid and put in fridge.

Serving; Cover a whole plate in "carpaccio" style per person. Maybe a little vanilla or coconut icecream in the middle.

Looks particularly exciting when sprinkled with minted sugar. You need to make this sugar à la minute, or the mintleaves will go black; a handful of mintleaves + sugar in a mortar, roughly crushed into a greenish sugar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koukouvagia 

I think I'll just leave the fruit salad to make the day of.  Hopefully if I make it in the morning it will keep until late afternoon, don't you think?

Believe it or not fruit salad cooks that is it actually will get more ripe and soft while sitting in any acid juice for a while, tropical fruits Kiwi, Pines,papaya,mango emit  an enzyme that also hastens "cooking"". So yes if possible make same day. Or if you make day before don't mix them. Mix day of.   

H A P P Y   H O L I D A Y   TO   A L L       Edb

Personally I like it after the fruit salad has been  sitting for a while and I have tossed it helps blend the flavors.  I like the idea of  trying basil instead of mint and paring it with pineapple for sure too.. maybe  a pineapple basil sorbet in my future