by Janet Sandford

Created on: April 09, 2011   Last Updated: March 24, 2012

Fruit salad can be one of the most refreshing and delightful desserts to serve in the warm summer months. Not only is it simple to prepare it is also packed with vitamins and minerals. Some people find eating fruit a chore as they have to wash, peel and slice most fruits. Some fruits like bananas are easy to eat but oranges and pineapples take a bit more effort. Fruit salad is an easy way of eating fruit and a large bowl is enough to serve a family of 4 - 6 people.

Depending on the seasons the variety of fruit to put into the salad will differ. It is always best to buy fresh fruit and make up the salad on the same day as you are going to serve it preferably allowing 2 to 3 hours for refrigerating. A syrup can easily be made by boiling up water, honey, lemon rind and lemon zest. This keeps the fruit moist and adds a special sweet taste to the salad.

This recipe serves 4-6 people

Ingredients:

I cup of boiled water
3 tablespoons honey
Juice and grated rind of one lemon
12 cardomom seeds
I tablespoon of lemon juice for sprinkling on top of he fruit
2 large firm peaches
3 dessert plums (golden or black)
3 crisp apples
1 William's pear
Bunch of grapes (green or black)
Sprig of lemon balm

Preparation time:15 minutes

Method: Bring the water, together with the honey, lemon juice and zest, to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, then take off the stove and mix with the ground cardamom. Peel and core the apples and pear, cut them in half and then into thin slices, sprinkle them with lemon juice. Stone the peaches and plums and cut them into slices. Mix all the fruit in the bowl. Pour over the prepared syrup. Cover the bowl and put into the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Before serving put the fruit salad into individual dishes and decorate with lemon balm leaves. Cream can be served as a topping or natural yogurt.

To give the fruit salad a more citrusy taste; oranges, mandarins and grapefruit can be substituted for the apples and pears. A banana added also helps to counter balance the sharpness of some oranges and particularly blends in with chopped and halved walnuts. These can be added with or without the cardamom seeds and give the salad a little more of an earthy taste.  

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