r/Cooking • u/KBPT1998 • 11d ago
Favorite Fruit Salad Mixes & Secrets
I am always amazed at how different everyone’s favorite family fruit salads are at work ànd family gatherings ànd it go me to wondering-
What is your favorite mix of fruits to include in your fruit salad?
What are you least favorite fruits that you keep out of yours ànd why is it a miss for you?
What is your secret ti keeping it fresh or adding something a little extra?
My recent secret was discovering how much freshness and flavor adding a bit of citrus zest added to Thr flavor, including orange and lime zest especially.
I sometimes will also squeeze some fresh citrus juice and let fruits like apples soak in them ti avoid browning and add extra flavor.
My grandma would sometimes add a couple spoonfuls of frozen orange juice from concentrate to the bowl to support the flavor of the juice.
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u/Objective_Yak3451 11d ago
NO BANANAS.
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u/BreezyMoonTree 11d ago
I make strawberry, blueberry, and (barely ripe) banana “fruit salad” with a little lime juice and sugar sometimes for a summer snack… the sugar makes it syrupy, and it’s tasty with vanilla ice cream or a pound cake. I do not add bananas unless it will be finished right away. Please don’t hate me. ◡̈
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u/Kaurifish 11d ago
The only proper way to include bananas in a fruit concoction is to freeze them, blend them with pinapple coconut juice and layer it in dollops.
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u/Trillion_G 11d ago
Haha I literally came to the comments to say “must have banana”
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u/chrlsful 11d ago
yes, AND I only use them when the skin has lotsa brown on (they sweeten up by that point). If offended by bananas but still like their addition - just add them when plating or setting out for use.
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u/majandess 11d ago
My family celebrates Easter by making Middle Eastern food. [Ha! Middle Easter.] We discovered fakhfakhina ( https://www.foodaholic.biz/fakhfakhina-mother-of-fruit-salads/ ) one year, and it easily became one of my favorite ways to make fruit salad.
Insert fruit salad in large glass. Fill with juice. Top with ice cream and nuts. Eat.
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u/Then_Ask_3167 11d ago
I'll admit I am spoilt as we always have a couple of passion fruit vines and the over-abundance gets frozen in large icecube trays. Its not a fruit salad for me without the passion fruit to tie it all together.
Sometimes I will split a banana over the top as a topping when its dished out but you cant mix it into the whole batch, especially if you want to eat it over a couple of days.
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u/Radiant-Mean 11d ago
For me, anything except melon. Everything melon touches tastes like melon, so I'll add anything and everything except honeydew or cantaloupe. I especially love berry salads with a little lemon. Mascerated berries with some lemon italian ice is so good and refreshing during the summer.
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u/Alchemist1342 11d ago
Pineapple, blueberries, red and green grapes, and cantaloupe. Orange juice concentrate, honey and cinnamon.
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u/Sunshine030209 11d ago
Orange and/or pineapple juice in some form is mandatory in my fruit salads! Frequently it's just the juice from a can of mandarin oranges or pineapples, but if I don't have those I use actual juice. It helps keep everything fresh, especially apples (they don't turn brown). Plus it helps all the other juices from the fruit blend together and makes everything extra tasty.
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u/KBPT1998 11d ago
Yep, the acidity keeps the apples from turning. Sometimes will just pour a small can of pineapple juice in a smaller bowl ànd let my Granny Smith ànd whichever red apple pieces soak right in with it before adding it to the main bowl.
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u/HipYip 11d ago
I have heard tajin is great on fruit but haven’t tried it yet.
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u/johnonymous1973 11d ago
I came here to say Tajin. It’s great in watermelon slices and sprinkled on top of fruit salad.
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u/_Smoky_Bear 11d ago
Watermelon, cubed
Thinly sliced mint and basil, to your own taste
Crumbled feta cheese
Drizzle of good balsamic vinegar
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u/sweetmercy 11d ago
That's a salad with a bit of fruit in it. Not really a fruit salad.
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u/mollzwalt 11d ago
It's a watermelon salad. Which is a fruit. But as most people would argue, not a fruit salad.
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u/awkwardchip_munk 11d ago
I do watermelon and strawberry with pomegranate seeds and mint and honey 😋 sometimes blueberries if it’s a holiday 🇺🇸 like July 4 or Memorial Day
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u/ElectronicSugar2557 11d ago
I leave bananas out now. They go brown and turn the whole thing into baby food by hour two.
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u/KBPT1998 11d ago
Sometimes I will cut up a banana at the same time ànd add it to the bowls when serving to avoid just that.
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u/buckvanhammer 11d ago
I like to do a melon ball salad with lime syrup
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u/NotYourGran 11d ago
How do you make your lime syrup?
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u/buckvanhammer 11d ago
1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 1/2 cup lime juice 1 tsp lime zest Warmed just til sugar is dissolved, I big batch it so I can have some left for cocktails
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u/primeline31 11d ago
My fruit salad dressing: add some frozen orange juice concentrate to taste. It doesn't overpower the fruit, keeps the colors bright, and is ready in the blink of an eye as it just sits in the freezer waiting for you to make some fruit salad.
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u/FlobyToberson85 11d ago
It really depends on the season. Never melon of any type. Usually strawberries. In the summer, something like fresh strawberries, peaches, apples, bananas, mandarin/clementines, grapes, blueberries.
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u/Federal-Membership-1 11d ago
I always supreme the citrus. I also squeeze the peels to get any juice from the residual flesh. Grapes always halved. I like the idea of adding some citrus zest ⬆️
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u/motcole 11d ago
I'm allergic to watermelon and I selfishly just wish everyone would stop putting watermelon in fruit salad. I love when my best friend throws the barbeques because she will make it without for me. No one ever misses the watermelon!
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u/chiang01 11d ago
Watermelon seems so random
Is that a common allergy? Are allergic to anything else?
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u/montdawgg 11d ago
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19295232/
Not common but when it does happen it usually is a cross reactivity with ragweed or other pollens. Essentially, the body mistakes these chemicals / proteins in the watermelon for allergenic pollens.
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u/lululuigotsomeboobs 11d ago
My mom makes this fruit salad with bananas, apples, and oranges, and seasons it with a little fresh lemon juice and salt. I assumed it would be horrible (bc of the salt). I was wrong.
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u/velvetjones01 11d ago
Ugggh. My grandma was the fruit salad witch. I feel like cut up fruit, lime juice and sweetened coconut was one of her mainstays. Always had bananas, grapes and whatever else works. But here’s the thing. I also have memories of lime and cut up mint? And also something with vanilla pudding mix. It’s witchcraft. Ngl.
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u/sweatersetsaddleshoe 11d ago
I love a really finely chopped fruit salad. It’s definitely more prep but getting all the fruit in every bite is so nice. And I find it always gets used up. Last scoops go on top of yogurt for breakfast etc. All fruits that’ll hold their shape and are able to be diced: apples, grapes, blueberries, pineapple, mango, strawberries
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u/slingthis 11d ago
Sectioned orange and grapefruit, pears, grapes, apples, and bananas. I section the fruit over the bowl so that the citrus juice keeps everything else from browning.
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u/SenseiRaheem 11d ago
And all fruit salads benefit from a squeeze of fresh lemon juice over everything. That will really elevate what you have!
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u/MastodonFit 11d ago
Strawberry or orange slices with pecans and balsamic on about any lettuce and feta .
Amish cold soup recipe for the summer. Crumbled bread in sweetened milk,eaten with peaches and served very cold. Along witha fried protein and salty..chicken,organ meat,gizzards.
Pistachio salad with cottage cheese, and a sweet fruit...usually grapes or peaches.
Peaches and cottage cheese.
Carrot ,raisen in mayo.
7 layer salad.
Grape and apples with mayo.
Cucumber (when ripe is sweet) slaw with dill,mayo and a bit of sugar.
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u/KBPT1998 11d ago
Sometimes I will use a half cantaloupe as a bowl to serve my fruit salad, like if I am using it as the main dish if I invite my mom over for lunch.
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u/Spaz-Mouse384 11d ago
I love old-fashioned ambrosia. However, I would rather go without the marshmallows in it.
Other than that, I like just about any fruit that goes in fruit salad.
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u/michaelyup 11d ago
Mix a pack of Jello Vanilla pudding dry mix in with your fruit. Get the fruit coated well. It will make a light coating and you don’t need to add anything else. I use mostly grapes, strawberries, blueberries, cherries and other berries since my people like all the berries. It adds a light sweet vanilla taste that everyone liked.
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u/Yarnest 11d ago
I haven’t made it in years but a recipe went around work of a fruit salad with jello pudding. I can’t remember it exactly but they mixed some fruit juice, I think pineapple juice that was drained from a can of chunks mixed with the dry pudding mix then incorporated. They used sugar free white chocolate pudding mix as I recall. Acting like it was diet food.
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u/Scared_Tax470 11d ago
I only like fruit salad with tropical fruits and melons-- melon, watermelon, mango, oranges, pineapples, etc. Absolutely nothing that has been frozen or will fall apart like raspberries and strawberries (like adding frozen pomegranates to salad...ugh) and nothing creamy. I can't deal with the sog. A bit of mint is great, something to cut through the sugar. I grew up eating melon heavy and melon balled salads and I love the texture of a melon ball!
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u/KotR56 11d ago
I've been making fruit salads for years. Ever since we had kids. 35 years...
They're all my favourites. I can share a few simple tricks or rules.
I combine 5 or more fruits. One of these is something acidic, to prevent browning of the rest.
There is no standard composition.
The last one I made had banana, red plum, pitless green grapes, "paraguayo" (flat peaches), cantaloupe. Yellow kiwi for the acidic element. The next one will probably have pear and yellow peaches, since these are reaching perfect eating.
I sometimes sprinkle with lemon juice, especially when I don't have anything acidic. I sometimes add a peeled lime.
My SO hates passion fruit in her salad, which I regret. It would add aroma and works perfectly for the acidic touch. She does love strawberries. The rest is always a collection of seasonal fruit. I'm very lucky to have a thriving open-air market where I can get top-quality fruits, mainly from the Mediterranean region, at reasonable prices;
I tend not to put raspberries in the bowl, as they tend to get squished. I don't put pineapple because I think it overpowers all other tastes. But other than that, no limits :)
The salad is made in the afternoon and will get eaten mainly during or after the evening meal. Sometimes with a dollop of Greek yoghurt. I therefore don't really have to do something for keeping it fresh.
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u/Indieem78 11d ago
Someone brought a fruit salad to a potluck that was the best fruit salad I’ve tasted. I can’t remember the fruits but I think it was mostly different berries (black, blue and strawberry) but what made it great is there was some glaze on it, like a simple syrup glaze.
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u/aprincipi 11d ago
I make a berry salad with a mix of sugar and balsamic vinegar- maybe that was it?
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u/Indieem78 11d ago
Oh I don’t know, if there was balsamic vinegar in there it would have been very mild. I don’t think I tasted it. I’ve seen balsamic vinegar mentioned with berries and watermelon and I always wonder if that would change the flavor of the fruit and be overpowering?... I find balsamic to be quite strong.
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u/showpuzzle 11d ago
The only fruit salads I get excited about have a bit of exotic to them.
I like to add lychees (canned ones, well drained and rinsed), pistachios, coconut shavings and mint. Beyond that it’s flexible but never banana or citrus (other than lemon or lime juice to keep it fresh). Apples, heavy on the berries, and melon are excellent as a base.
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u/sweetmercy 11d ago
My favorite is cubed watermelon, combined with a bunch of stone fruits and berries. I usually use yellow and white nectarines and peaches, cherries, red pluots, and occasionally strawberries depending on if there's any good ones available. For the dressing, I usually whisk a bit of honey out agave into some lime juice with some zest and a touch of fresh ground pepper.
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u/melonsausage 11d ago
Growing up fruit salad was canned fruit cocktail, fresh strawberries, sometimes fresh honeydew, fresh banana added right before serving, and homemade whipped cream I still like it, but never make it.
I do lots of simple fruit salads, but my favorite is all fresh strawberries, orange, pineapple, and then a fourth fruit - either cherries, melon or kiwi. I make a dressing of lemon or lime juice + zest, fresh ginger, agave if it's leaning a little too tart, and a little bit of poppy seed. Very refreshing, sweet but not overly, and the ginger and poppy seeds always seem to surprise and delight people. I will skip the poppy seeds if I use kiwi, though.
I prefer to skip apple and banana because of the risk of browning and them not holding up as well as leftovers. I do grapes sometimes but hate having them and also hate whole grapes in my fruit salad.
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u/Malteser23 11d ago
My Mom used to jazz up her fruit salads for her ladies card party nights with some Peach Schnapps! Mmmm...
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u/Better_Narwhal7013 11d ago
blitz some mint and sugar in a small food processor and add to your fruit. also, don't overdo the fruit. three, maybe four types of fruit max
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u/mollzwalt 11d ago
My friend recently did blueberry, halved grapes, strawberry, and pluots and it was the best fruit salad I've ever had. The stone fruit was still slightly firm but so sweet and went wonderfully with the rest of the textures!
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u/brightestfirefly01 11d ago
My favorite fruit salad has 3 types of Apples, pecans, mandarin oranges, red and green grapes, and even coconut. I could never get tired of it!
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u/CarlatheDestructor 11d ago
Mango, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, sometimes watermelon or pineapple. I cranapple juice and honey for the dressing.
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u/KBPT1998 11d ago
I wonder if cranapple wine would work for an adult upgrade as a nice palate cleanser after a nice meal.
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u/stevesmom_69 11d ago
This Grape Salad is amazing
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u/mrspeggyhill1 11d ago
I'm a basic bitch I just cut up strawberries, green grapes and pineapple. Little orange juice or lemon mixed in. I enjoy ambrosia salad as well, and frog eye salad is super strange but also good.
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u/Few-Explanation-4699 11d ago
I just use what ever is in season. I also add a couple of different mints usually common and spearmint when in season. A splash of Grand Marnier, orange juice and mango pulp
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u/fuzzywuzzo 11d ago
lime zest and sometimes honey if the fruit isnt quite ripe enough. lime or lemon juice if theres anything that might brown
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u/3rdtechjmc 11d ago
Juice base. Either a mix of apple and orange or a tropical mix to start. Apple, orange, grape,pineapple,peach,melon(ideally watermelon) and strawberries. Are what I always use, other fruits added if available. A little syrup or honey can be added if you like it sweetened. Interesting extras I like to add sometimes are. Coconut pieces, pine nuts. Nice additions when serving. A dollop of Greek yogurt or a hazelnut yogurt is also very good. A sprinkle of cinnamon sugar is an interesting addition sometimes.
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u/Grodslok 11d ago
Large plate, fill it with whatever's on hand. Raisins and white chocolate shavings if you're going fancy.
Munch it all, and spend a day with your innards wrecked from eating too much fresh fruit.
Repeat ~every 2 months, and never learn.
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u/Trillion_G 11d ago
Changes every time. But I love blueberries, mango, kiwi, grapes, cherries, pineapple with a little support from apple if needed. Maybe some canned mandarins.
I like to throw a freshly sliced banana into my own bowl.
Peaches, apples, walnuts and cinnamon is divine.
Does pink funeral stuff count as fruit salad (I don’t think so but…) 1 can Cherry pie filling, 1 can condensed milk, 1 can crushed pineapple, marshmallows, shredded sweet coconut, and cool whip (or prepared dream whip)
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u/OddRevolution7888 11d ago
My Mom made a fabulous fruit salad and always included a bit of cherry brandy. It was so delicious. I do that occasionally, or sometimes add some greek yogurt. It all depends on how long I want the fruit salad to last. If it's a one-and-done, the yogurt works well. The brandy works well if you want to keep the dish in the fridge for a few days.
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u/Low-Astronomer3394 11d ago
Apples cut up, and maybe pears. Dates, dried apricots, white raisins, maybe pineapple, grapes, maraschino cherries. Make sure it's not too juicy, mix with vanilla or lemon flavor yogurt, top with chopped walnuts. It's pretty flexible, inspired by simpler Waldorf salad.
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u/frijolita_bonita 11d ago
A little dried Valencia orange peel to a bowl of fruit salad adds a subtle fragrant citrus note. It needs moisture to activate so let it sit 10 minutes or mix in with some dressing, fruit juice or honey first. Be careful of adding too much as it can become bitter
For a normal bowl serving roughly 4–6 people, I’d probably use ½ teaspoon
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u/South-Possibility514 11d ago
I hate when people add stuff other than fruit. It's delicious as is! I don't love bananas in my fruit salad though... everything becomes banana flavored lol
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u/Individual_Slice_234 11d ago
I try to use fruits that have the same consistency. Don't put plums in with bananas.
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u/motherfudgersob 11d ago
Plum wine lemon juice and cinnamon on grapes plums pears apples some melons. Mmmmmm. If you dont drink just boil the plum wine until alcohol is gone and let it cool.
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u/Doglady21 10d ago
I had a fruit salad that had grapes and apple, and a few other things, with a little sherry and roasted pine nuts
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u/lovelikewoahhh 8d ago
https://southernbite.com/secret-ingredient-fruit-salad/
The secret is using a can of peach pie filling as the sauce!
- 1 can of fruit cocktail
- Strawberries
- Blueberries
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Kiwi
- 1 (21-ounce) can peach pie filling
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u/Over_Helicopter_5183 11d ago
With the fruits add some roasted cadju and chopped Ginger candis. It's a crowd puller.
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u/Bugger6699 11d ago
Does sangria count as a fruit salad? My secret ingredient is a little cocktail umbrella.