May 13 National Fruit Cocktail Day #FruitCocktailDay I remember growing up when my grandmother Dorie was here my mom’s mom and we would cook Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner together. One thing my grandmother would want to serve would be Fruit Salad which I usually would make for her.
It’s been years since I’ve fixed a Fruit Salad of any kind but as much as David loves Fruit and with Father’s Day right around the corner it would be fun to see if I could remember the recipe from my childhood and help Charlie prepare a Fruit Salad for David in Charlie’s Homeschool Home Economics Cooking Class. Would you like to join us in celebrating David and have some Fruit Salad with David. Which I will pass on because I don’t like Fruit and before you ask what about Charlie I’m not sure if he would eat any of it or not.
The term Fruit Cocktail conjures up childhood memories of finding a sweet surprise at the bottom of your sack lunch, but there’s so much more to this Spring and Summer food favorite. From Fruit Salads origins as a heavy, purely unwholesome aperitif of the American South to the trendy Summer Salads we see today, this confectionary concoction has rightfully earned a holiday of celebration. Mark your calendars for May 13th, and join us in celebrating National Fruit Cocktail Day!
NATIONAL FRUIT COCKTAIL DAY ACTIVITIES
- A uncanny way to celebrate, National Fruit Salad Day let your creative juices run wild and make your own Fruit Cocktail. For the adventurous, there’s little harm in purchasing a mix of your favorite Fruits and combining them together with the Sauce of your choice to see what happens.
- Summer is just around the corner and temperatures are heating up, pack a Fruit Cocktail to go and don’t forget to grab a few friends and enjoy the outdoors with a healthy treat in hand.
- Creating an adult beverage out of a kid’s lunchtime classic is a quick way to add flare to your late-Spring party and a dessert Wine like Port, or a low-Alcohol Liqueur, or even Brandy add a great touch to Fruit Cocktail’s sweet nectar.
WHY PEOPLE LOVE NATIONAL FRUIT COCKTAIL DAY
- We can feel good about throwing back a serving of Fruit Cocktail.
- Even pre-made canned varieties of Fruit Cocktail pack a punch of vitamin C, and often, contain even more of the immunity-boosting antioxidant than fresh Fruit.
- Be careful, though because Fruit Salad can turn against you quick in the form of Sugars and calories when it’s canned in heavy Syrup.
- Fruit Cocktail as we know it can be traced back to the earliest days of industrial canning in America when America’s fruit producers found a way to delight the public, while at the same time selling damaged Fruit that would have otherwise been unmarketable.
- Whether you’re purchasing your favorite brand of Fruit Cocktail off the shelves or making Fruit Cocktail yourself, Fruit Cocktail is a fast snack. If you’re going for aesthetics, what’s an easier way to jazz up a table than with a cornucopia of colors and a dollop of Whipped Cream?
Recipe for Fruit Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2cups water
- 1cup sugar
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1sprig fresh basil, if desired
- 4nectarines, peeled, cut into chunks
- 4peaches, peeled, cut into chunks
- 1cup dark sweet cherries, pitted, halved
- 1cup canned or fresh pineapple chunks
Steps
- 1In heavy saucepan, heat sugar, water, lime juice and basil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; discard basil sprig.
- 2In large glass bowl, mix nectarines, peaches, cherries and pineapple. Pour sugar syrup over fruit; stir to coat. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 1 hour.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
