Have I mentioned how much I like honey? I once paid $700 for two jars of it. But there’s no need to spend astonishing amounts of money for this delicious fruit salad. Just grab whatever is in season and affordable at your local grocery or farmer’s market. After washing, peeling and chopping, toss it all in a lovely mix of honey, lime zest, and lime juice and enjoy a healthy treat.
This recipe is not my own; it’s basically the Honey Lime Rainbow Fruit Salad from the Cooking Classy blog. Please head over there and give Jaclyn’s awesome blog some appreciation! She republished this recipe last year as it’s been such a fan favorite. Here’s what I made:
Ingredients
Blueberries and strawberries are essential to this recipe, as the blue and red color are essential to the beauty of the mixture, highlighting the essentially delicious flavor that both these fruits contribute. Once you have these, the other additions are icing on the cake: cantaloupe, peaches, tangerines or oranges for the orange color, pineapple (or I guess banana, I’m not a fan of bananas unless they are next to peanut butter or hidden in banana bread) for the yellow color. Kiwi, honeydew or granny smith apple for the green. Red or purple grapes or blackberries for a darker note. Raspberries are lovely as well, but they spoil quickly; if you use raspberries, maybe eat this fruit salad the same day.
In a pinch to save time and money, you can also use some canned or frozen ingredients. Canned pineapple will save you lots of time peeling, and canned mandarin orange slices are delicious. Frozen peach and mango slices tend to be still fairly firm after defrosting; most other frozen fruit might be too soggy.
If using kiwi fruit in this recipe, Zespri are the best. Absolutely worth the higher price. I used to think I didn’t like kiwi fruit because I kept buying other brands. Then we had the incredible luck to visit the Zespri headquarters on our honeymoon, back in 2003. it’s on the North Island of New Zealand, half a world away from here in absolute paradise. Now I can buy a box of Zespri and remember that delightful trip when I eat them.
There is something magical that happens when you toss fresh fruit with just a tiny sprinkle of honey or sugar. Honey is ideal, but sugar also works; it softens the fruit a bit, bringing out its juiciness and flavor. Once you toss it, it will continue to soften; there is a limited time after which it may be a bit too soggy to be enjoyed as expected. If you have leftovers and it ends up in the fridge for a day, you might enjoy the juicy leftovers poured over a slice of angel food cake.
This recipe includes lime zest and juice along with the honey; the sourness is the perfect complement to the sweetness, and makes the most of the flavor of the fresh fruit.
If you haven’t already, pick up a good quality vegetable wash, and be sure to wash all your fruit before chopping. One brand widely available at our stores is Veggie Wash, and there are other great brands as well. Unfortunately at the time of writing this post, there’s been a lot of irresponsible press about the lack of effectiveness of washes like these. It upsets me as it is causing harm. I took several hours one day to dive into the actual scientific research papers that have been misinterpreted and misquoted. Long story short, I don’t have to tell you that soap gets you cleaner than just rinsing with water, and fruits and vegetables are no different.