Subject: RECIPE: Too much fruit salad
From: roy@phri (Roy Smith)
Date: 20 Feb 87 04:31:29 GMT
Newsgroups: mod.recipes

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.RH MOD.RECIPES-SOURCE FRUIT-SALAD D "29 Nov 86" 1987
.RZ "TOO MUCH FRUIT SALAD" "Generic fresh fruit salad"
Many people think of fruit salad as that disgusting stuff that comes in a
can made from diced plastic fruit and heavy syrup. This is more like what it
is supposed to taste like, although some people might claim that my addition
of syrup makes this into fruit cocktail instead of fruit salad.
.PP
Whatever you call it, it's especially good in the summer. I make it every
couple of months (usually in vast quantities, even though there are only two
of us, hence the name). It rarely lasts very long, regardless of how much I
make.
.IH "Makes too much"
.IG "1" "ripe pineapple"
.IG "1" "ripe melon"
.IG "1" "large grapefruit"
(preferably pink)
.IG "2\-3" "oranges"
.IG "11 oz" "maraschino cherries" "300 g"
(1 large jar)
.IG "2\-3" "ripe bananas"
.IG "2\-3" "kiwi fruits"
.IG "1 lb" "stewed prunes in heavy syrup" "500 g"
(1 standard can)
.IG "2\-3" "ripe peaches,"
sliced (or use 
.AB "1 lb" "500 g"
of stewed apricot halves in heavy syrup)
.IG "1 cup" "apricot nectar" "250 ml"
.PH
.SK 1
Peel and section the grapefruit and oranges. Remove the seeds and membranes.
Cut the sections into bite-size pieces and dump into a big non-metallic bowl.
.SK 2
Peel and core the pineapple (making sure to get all the eyes), cut the flesh
into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. A typical whole pineapple is
usually too much, so you might want to reserve about 1/3 of the flesh to eat
by itself.
.SK 3
Peel and cut the melon, bananas, peaches, and kiwi fruits and add to the bowl.
The kiwis should be sliced horizontally (so the seeds make pretty circular
patterns).
.SK 4
Add the stewed prunes, syrup and all. This will moisten everything. Add the
maraschino cheries and the syrup they came in (check for stems). Add the
nectar, making sure there is enough liquid to cover the fruit.
.SK 5
This is the hard part. Put it all in the refrigerator, and don't eat any
until tommorow. It really needs to sit overnight for all the colors and
flavors to blend together.
.NX
Some people might object to the use of maraschino cherries\(emthey are
processed with sulfur dioxide, which isn't really good for you. I like the
way they taste, so I allow myself this one debauch.
.PP
Unless you can find good-quality fresh fruit, it is better to use canned.
This is especially true of pineapple\(emcanned pineapple is not as good as
good fresh pineapple, but is much better than a bad fresh one. For the
melon, I've used honeydew, canteloupe, and casaba with good results.
Watermelon is interesting, but has a very diferent texture from the others.
More important than the actual variety is that it is ripe. Unfortunately,
New York supermarkets only seem to sell the kind of melon that goes from
rock-hard to rotten without passing through ripe. Bananas are best when they
are just starting to get brown speckles.
.PP
My mother uses orange juice for the liquid, but I prefer nectar.
The combination of the prune and cherry syrups give it a nice color.
Sometimes I add a bit of lemon juice for tartness.
I've experimented with cherry liqueur, but didn't really like the results.
.PP
Use whatever fruit you find fresh in the market. The invariant part is the
grapefruit, orange, and maraschino cherries.
.SH RATING
.I Difficulty:
easy.
.I Time:
30 minutes preparation, \(12 day waiting.
.I Precision:
approximate measurement mandatory.
.WR
Roy Smith
Public Health Research Institute, New York, NY, USA
{allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy