Fruit salad is really easy to make. The tricky part is knowing how much to make and how to keep the fruit looking and tasting fresh, after it has been cut up.

When calculating how much to make, I usually allow ½ cup of fruit salad per person if there are several other food options. If I am serving a simple breakfast of fruit salad and breakfast breads – muffins, bagels, croissants, etc. – I allow one cup per person.

I always use what’s in season for the best flavor. The salad will only be as good as the fruit you use. I use frozen organic orange juice concentrate mixed in with the cut fruit to keep the apples and pears from turning brown. I cut up most of the fruit the day before and add the bananas just before serving.

If you are adding pomegranate seeds or berries, put them on top last minute, so they don’t discolor the entire salad. The good news about this fruit salad is that it still tastes good for at least two days. So make extra and enjoy!

 

FRESH FRUIT SALAD

EVENT: New Year’s Day Brunch

Ingredients

Instead of giving you a specific recipe, I think it’s better to give you an idea of the yield you can expect from specific fruit:

1 can frozen organic orange concentrate

1 medium apple = 1 ½ cups, chopped

1 large Asian pear = 1 ¾ cups, chopped

1 medium pear = 1 cup, chopped

1 medium orange = ¾ cup, segmented

1 banana = ¾ cup, sliced

1 pomegranate = 1 cup seeds

Feel free to add melons or mangos, peaches or nectarines if in season. But be aware that fruit with higher juice / water content will not keep as well.

Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Directions

1. Thaw orange juice concentrate in refrigerator overnight.

2. Thoroughly wash all the fruit, if you’re not using organic.

3. Peel and core the apples. Chop the apples and add into a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the orange concentrate. (Depending on the quantity of the fruit salad, start with half a can of orange concentrate. Add more if needed.)

5. Peel and core the pears and the Asian pears. Mix into the bowl.

6. Supreme oranges.* Mix into the salad.

7. Add the sliced bananas, grapes and pomegranate seeds right before serving, the day of the party.

* A NOTE: To supreme an orange, first trim off the top and the bottom. Set the fruit on end and carefully cut the skin from its flesh, beginning at the top and following the curves down. Then, carefully cut out each section by inserting the blade of the knife between the flesh and the membrane on both sides, leaving the membrane intact.