Fruits are great appetizers that are commonly served after or before meal time, this happens mostly in parties; you may likely come across some bowl of fruits being passed around from one table to another. It looks beautiful when this bowls are loaded with different fruits. These fruits can be served as an appetizer and they are also served as deserts at picnics and in various events. Fruits apart from being appetizer or deserts they have other uses. You can make them into juices or healthy smoothies and some fruits like lemon and lime are used in various cosmetic products and to spice food and they are also used slow down micro-organisms in other foods.
Potato salad, shrimp salad , tuna salad, crab salad (seafood salad) fruit salad and vegetable salad are few ways of making salad, there are various salad recipes to look into but in todays article we are going to talk specifically on fruit salad which is one of the easiest ways of mixing different fruits to enjoy.
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What is fruit salad?
Best fresh fruit salad
Fruit salad is a dish containing different pieces of foods such as fruits, it is mostly called fruit cocktail, and this doesnt mean it has alcohol in it is just another way of defining it. Fruit salad consists of different mixture of fruits in one bowl. This is a simple way of making your breakfast with some healthy fruits, whether as a side salad or snack at any time of the day.
Fruit salad is very easy to make based on ones preference, you can choose your fruit according to their nutritional values, health benefits, sweetness and colours. Fruit salad is a great way to sweeten your taste bud and also since fruits contain fibre, they aid in digestion even after meal, you can eat a little portion of food and then top up with some healthy fruits in form of fruit salad, this will help you to stay full longer without going over heavy food for more than 4 hours or more. The fruit bowl could contain more than two different fruits displaying lovely and beautiful fruit colours, and it sometimes served in liquids like- milk, yoghurt, cream, juices and in puddings.
Fruit salad dressing ingredients
Making fruit salad with additional ingredients is a great concept and it adds some delicious taste to the mixed fruits; ingredients like honey, milk, whipped cream, coconut milk, lime juice, orange zest, vanilla essence, and fresh-squeezed orange juice are just supper additives for dressing fruit salad.
What type of fruit to use for fruit salad? (Simple fruit salad ideas)
- Tropical fruit salad– to make tropical fruit salad, you can combine mango, pineapple, pawpaw and cherries, they make a very good combination.
- Apple fruit salad– red apple goes well with kiwi, strawberries, pineapple or peach, you can add other fruits like cherries or grape fruits to come up with a cocktail display.
- Orange fruit salad– orange has been one the oldest fruit juice right from the world go, the zest or the juice are great for toasting other fruits in it. Combine fruits like pineapple, banana, apple and strawberries in orange juice and leave to sit for few minutes. You can drain the orange juice later or you serve it like that if you prefer, chill this and enjoy.
- Water melon fruit salad– you are still new to fruit salad if you have never made fruit salad using water melon, water is super for fruit salad because it has everything you need it, even the big greenish pod can serve as a bowl, and it is so satisfying and very sweet. Combine water melon, pawpaw (papaya), banana and pineapple, toast them in plain yoghurt or evaporated milk and chill it for 2 hours before serving for a better flavour. You will definitely love the unique flavour and combination; it is even more fun serving it in the water melon empty pod.
Ingredients for fruit salad
- 2 cups pineapple fruit
- 2 cups water ripe water melon
- 2 cups ripe pawpaw (papaya)
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 canned evaporated milk or yoghurt, lime and lime juice
Various fresh fruits for a healthy fruit salad
How to make fresh fruit salad
- Wash banana, pineapple, water melon and pawpaw thoroughly in clean water.
- Cut open the top of water melon fruit and use a sharp spoon to scoop out the pink flesh
- Peel pawpaw, pineapple and cut them into tiny cubes and place in a bowl.
- Peel banana and cut them into tiny bits.
- Remove all the seeds from water melon and cut the flesh into smaller sizes and bring them into the bowl containing the other fruit.
- Pour in yoghurt or milk and toast to combine.
- Place the fruit in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
- Bring the fruit out when it is chilled and serve inside the empty water melon pod.
Easy steps to make fresh fruits salad.
- Wash all your fruits and clean them from excess liquid.
Assemble all your fruits in one place for the salad and cut them into thin sizes
2. Cut water melon and scoop the water melon flesh into a bowl and remove the seeds.
Cut the water melon top, let the part you want to serve the salad inside, be bigger than the other and scoop the fruit out of it in to a plate.
3. Peel pawpaw and pineapple, remove seeds from pawpaw and cut all into tiny cubes
4. Peel bananas and cut them into tiny sizes too.
5. Bring all the fruits into one bowl.
After cutting all the fruits, bring them into one bowl
6. Pour in yoghurt or milk and toast to combine.
Bring the empty water melon pod and scoop the fruit into it.
7.Serve fruit salad chilled in water melon shell.
This fruit salad if perfect for picnic especially during summer, you can scoop the other water melon flesh out and use it as a lid for your fruit salad
A very simple and healthy fruit salad
Enjoy your fruit salad and have a wonderful new year ahead.
Tips for making fruit salad
- When combining different fruits for fruit salad, it is important to choose the right fruit, you should try to make use of fresh fruits and make sure the fruits are completely ripe for the salad. Unripe fruits are sour in taste and tough for salad. Try to feel the fruit with your hands to check if the fruits are bad (soft) or perfect for the salad. Frozen fruits are also great for fruit salad as you only need to thaw the fruits in cold water before using them. You can purchase your fruits in the grocery store ahead of time and freeze them before the day you want to make your salad.
- Avocados, peas, grape fruits and blue berries are great choice for fruit salad; feel free to combine any kind of fruit for your salad.
- For a more tangy flavour or taste, you can drizzle some lemon juice on you salad and toast before serving, it taste unique too.
- Apple and banana get brown immediately they are prepared, you can soak them slightly in orange or lime juice to prevent from ruining other fruits.
- The thing about fruit salad is that, you can combine any kind of fruit for it, and any kind of dressing can be done, it is a matter of choice.
- Additionally, after making your fruit salad, it is best to place the fruit bowl in the fridge for 2-4 hours to get it chilled and for the flavour of different fruits to blend before serving it.
- Always wash your fruits properly and remove seeds if need be, before using them for fruit salad.
You can watch this video to see how to make this simple fruit salad.