Genuine fruit is a panacea, there is no doubt. And eat fruit it also makes you lose weight, word of Harvard! Mixing fruit in a delicious and creative way is a way to enjoy it even more and maybe increase our daily doses. Breakfast, snack, dessert or even a single dish, the fruit salad – or fruit salad if you prefer – is a dish to be re-evaluated, especially in the hot season.
It is also about an alternative to extracts, centrifuges & c., which are good, of course, but do not overdo it. We therefore proceed with some advice to prepare healthy and gourmet fruit salads.
Let's start from fruit selection. First rule: even though we now have almost every kind of fruit throughout the year, it's really important to choose that of the season. The fruit in any case must be genuine, otherwise the sense of eating in quantity decays. Find out about the chemical treatments you have received; if you want to be on the safe side, choose biodynamic. In the selection, take care of the colors: the fruit salad is beautiful when it is garish. Not only do we give satisfaction to our eyes as well as to our taste buds: eating in color is good to health and mood.
Let's now move on to how to cut it. For this it is good to decide in advance where it will be served or how it will be consumed. If you do it to put it in the box to take to the office it is very different than if you want to serve it as a dessert in a dinner with friends. In general, however, fruit cut smaller loses more fluids e it tends to tend to be more quickly; in return blends well with flavors and better absorbs other ingredients such as sugars and liqueurs.
Containers: they are the ones that set the tone together with the fruit salad itself. Use a fruit as a container he always makes his great figure. Empty them carefully and choose fruits such as grapefruit, melons, watermelons. They can be center table or single portion (using the baby version of the larger fruits). Or bowls made by voi, with fillo pasta rather than brisé.
timing: the fruit salad should not be prepared too early, otherwise risks over macerating. Furthermore – and here we begin to introduce the topic of ingredients – it is indispensable lemon: at least a few drops will prevent a premature blackening of your fruit composition. Going back to the times, it is not a good idea to prepare the fruit salad immediately before serving, since in this case the tastes of the various ingredients do not have the time to amalgamate. Keep it in the fridge at least a couple of hours before – cover it so that it doesn't take other smells.
Let's move on to the ingredients. The fruit salad can also be just simply fruit cut into pieces and mixed. It is necessary to put sugar? Certainly not. Instead, include very sugary fruits like le bananas – which are always a perfect base for fruit salad, they round off the taste and dampen the acid ingredients. If you prepare it for children – and can be one of the ways to make them eat more fruit – you can add sugar, but be careful: not all sugars are the same.
And then – and this also applies to adults, of course – they exist greedy alternatives to sugar to sweeten. We are not just talking about honey, an ally of well-being but whose taste is not loved by everyone, especially in fruit salads (although, remember, there are many different types of honey). And not even the low-calorie stevia, hyper-sweetening but with a very special taste. In the fruit salad they are exquisite, for example maple syrup rather than date syrup. Also a few tablespoons of a jam genuine is a nice option. Forget about sweeteners, which are increasingly opposed by science.
And now a little one excursus free style among the optional ingredients, to create original fruit salads to alternate and savor.
Liquids. From the time of the grandmothers comes the use of the syrup, when the exotic and dry fruit was not in circulation, it was only used in winter. And then a classic is naturally the addition of an alcoholic: from maraschino to anise and amaretto, from red to white wine. The Passito, Zibibbo, Porto and Marsala are timeless. For tastes, they give a gourmet touch to adult lovers of the genre.
Dried fruit, which lengthens life and helps keep the weight-shape: it's really good, it makes the fruit salad more rich in nutrients and taste. Among the nuts, the walnuts they are the most sold in Italy, and go well with fruits such as sweet and ripe pears and apples, not too acidic (no apricots, for example) and even hyper-contrasting consistency – excellent juicy and sugary white grapes. And then almonds (which help to combat exhaustion), hazelnuts and everything you like. The important thing is romperla in small pieces. Dehydrated or dried fruit is also delicious: no disdained sultanas (not all raisins it is!) and then dried apricots, a real cure-all rather than coconut flakes or mango. In winter abound with dates, dried figs etc. Even in summer, some pieces of candied fruit color and embellish; the peelings of orange or cedar make it greedy.
Vegetables: let's first remember that tomato it is a fruit and not a vegetable and it goes wonderfully with watermelon. As for the vegetables, you can always dare an "improper" interference: zucchini, for example? Herbs and spices: the aromatic herbs can be fantastic in the fruit salad, from the fresh mint to the original basil. Among the spices, a classic is cinnamon – which combined with the apple is a 'strudel effect' – or clove, or a hint of nutmeg or cardamom.
Toppings and accompaniments. Above, but also below: a base of ladyfingers rather than sponge cake, other accompanying biscuits. And ice cream, of course. And then panne, creams like zabaglione in winter or lemon or limoncello cream in summer. For topping you can indulge yourself with various grits, chocolate chips or other fancy goodies. All to be composed strictly at the last minute.
Carola Traverso Saibante
July 2019
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