Fruit Salad Recipe & Video

I have fond memories of Fruit Salads. You know the canned Fruit Salad (Fruit Cocktail) that has all those tiny pieces of fruit and maraschino cherries in an overly sweet sugar syrup. As a kid, I loved it, especially when my Mom would pour it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But, as is often the case, our tastes change over the years, and I now want my Fruit Salad to be a little more "fresh and natural" tasting. So I started making a lightly sweetened sugar syrup, flavoring it with lemon and orange juices and some Limoncello (an Italian liqueur), and then tossing in a hodgepodge of fresh (and even dried) fruits. The result is a delicious mixture of fruit and syrup that really showcases the flavors of all the fruits. While you can serve the Fruit Salad immediately, my preference is to chill it for several hours (or even overnight) so the sugar syrup has time to both soften and flavor the fruits. I enjoy this it for breakfast, or as a snack, and I also still like it poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

When making a fruit salad, the quality of the fruit  will determine how flavorful your salad will taste. Summer does offer the widest selection of fresh fruit (all kinds of berries, peaches, cherries, nectarines, apricots, and plums), but even in the dead of winter there are fruits like apples, oranges, pears, pineapple, seedless grapes, kiwi, and bananas to choose from. And don't forget about adding dried fruits, as dried figs, cranberries, cherries, apricots, and raisins add both color and flavor to fruit salads. It is best to cut large fruits, like apples, pears, and peaches, into bite size chunks or wedges. Cantaloupe and honeydew can be cut into pretty round balls with a tool called a melon ball scoop. If using oranges or grapefruit, you may want to remove the rind and the inner white pith as it can be quite bitter tasting. The fruit then needs to be separated into sections and all the seeds removed. Do this over a bowl to catch any juices. And pour all the extra juice into your syrup. You can serve the fruit salad cold or at room temperature.