“Back during the Depression we saw an orange about once a year,” recalled Chet Atkins. That once a year was likely to be Christmas time, and that orange was such a rarity it most often ended up as a gift tucked in the toe of a stocking.
When I was growing up in the city several decades later, fruit was more common, but the old traditions persisted. My Christmas stocking usually had little toys, geegaws, and jewelry, but always, at the top, there was a banana poking out; halfway through was an apple; and in the toe, every year, an orange.
And every year my mother made her traditional fruit salad. In fact, she made the salad twice a year—at Thanksgiving also—because she firmly believed a body couldn’t eat turkey without it. But somehow—perhaps because the fruit in my stocking got contributed to the process—I always thought of this as her Christmas Fruit Salad.
She said this is how her mother made fruit salad also, and when we had a houseful of company for Christmas she would make nearly double the amount here and serve it in the big glass punch bowl from the china cabinet, just as her mother had done.
My special treat while she was making it was to drink the drained juice from the pineapple chunks out of a small jelly glass, but some folks like to use the juice to make a dressing that’s served on the side with fruit salad. I have included a recipe for the dressing, although my family always thought the undressed fruit salad was good enough.
You can add or subtract ingredients to suit your own tastes, of course.
“To me, the more grapes and bananas and nuts you have in it, the better it is,” is what my mother said.
Christmas Fruit Salad
Serves one dozen
You Will Need
- 1 large, red delicious apple
- 1 firm-fleshed pear
- 2 or 3 naval oranges
- 1 pound red grapes, halved and seeded
- 1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, drained
- 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, with juice
- 2 nectarines if available, or 1 16-ounce can peaches
- 1 1⁄2 cups pecan halves
- 4 firm bananas, not too ripe
To Prepare
Quarter and remove stem and core from apple and pear. Cut into slices about 1⁄2-3⁄4 inch wide at the arc and cut small bite-sized pieces into a large bowl. Over the bowl, peel oranges, using a knife so you get all the white pith off and so all the juice runs over the apple and pear. Cut oranges into small bites also, being careful to remove any seeds.
My mother usually used red Emperor grapes that have seeds, which means that after she cut each in half, she used the tip of her knife to flick the seeds out. She preferred the flavor of the Emperor, but in later years found the convenience of seedless red grapes, now commonly available, even more attractive. But even if you use the seedless grapes, you still have to cut them in half. If you toss them in the salad whole, “it doesn’t get everything near as juicy and good tasting,” my mother said.
Drain juice from can of pineapple chunks and set aside for dressing, if you want—or pass on to your favorite kid to drink if not. If chunks are too big, cut in half. Cut nectarine in pieces like pear and apple—or if using canned peaches, drain and cut them into pieces that same size.
The pecan pieces you can buy in groceries already broken up are actually too small to be good, my mother said. Pecan halves, of course, are too large. So what you have to do now it take the 1 1⁄2 cups of pecan halves, break each one in half across the middle, and toss into the salad.
Just before you’re ready to serve, peel bananas and add to salad in slices about 1⁄4 inch thick. Toss everything together gently but well and put in big serving bowl. Pass salad dressing on the side.
Christmas Fruit Salad Dressing
You Will Need
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1⁄8 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg, beaten
- reserved pineapple juice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup cream, whipped
To Prepare
In a saucepan, mix together the sugar, flour, and salt, then stir in the beaten egg and pineapple juice. Put over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat, add the tablespoon of butter, and stir until it’s dissolved and mixed in. Refrigerate for one hour.
When you’re ready to serve, whip the cream until it’s fluffy, then fold chilled pineapple juice mixture into the cream, blending it well. Serve in a bowl next to the fruit salad.
Ambrosia
This sweet fruit salad is a Southern tradition, and was often made in the simplest of ways—just sliced orange sections layered with fresh-grated coconut and left for a bit in the refrigerator, while their flavors married.
Over the years, any number of variations on that theme have come along—and the name Ambrosia has been given to several kinds of fruit salad that have oranges, coconut, and something creamy to hold them together. Most Ambrosias these days usually have canned mandarin oranges and pineapple, coconut, whipped or sour cream, and marshmallows. My version is as rich as that one, but with ripe summer fruits and a wonderful homemade. Although this is called a salad and is traditionally served as such with the meal, it’s rich and sweet enough to be dessert.
You Will Need
- 1⁄2 cup sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 20-ounce can of pineapple chunks
- 3 beaten egg yolks
- 3 small oranges
- 1 1⁄2 cups apricots or bing cherries
- 2 peaches
- 7-ounce package sweetened coconut
To Prepare
Drain the juice from the can of pineapple and set the chunks aside to go in the salad later.
While water is coming to a boil in the bottom of a double boiler, mix sugar, ginger, and cornstarch in the top, away from the heat. Add pineapple juice and beaten egg yolks and whisk until blended.
Then heat the mixture over boiling water, stirring constantly, until it’s thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Pour into a cool bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the fruit.
Peel the oranges with a knife, removing all the white. Slice into three rounds, then section, removing the pith and seeds. Slice apricots in quarters or cherries in half and remove seeds. Peel the peaches and cut into bite-sized bits. Mix all the fruit, including the pineapple chunks, with coconut. If dressing is not cooled yet, refrigerate fruit until it is.
When dressing is cooled, pour over the fruit and toss lightly until everything is well coated. Keep chilled until ready to serve, but serve soon since this salad does not keep well. This is a good addition to a chicken or turkey dinner.
Excerpted from Shuck Beans, Stack Cakes, and Honest Fried Chicken: The Heart and Soul of Southern Country Kitchens. Copyright ©1991 by Ronni Lundy.
Enjoy Ronni Lundy’s James Beard Award-winning book VICTUALS: An Appalachian Journey, with Recipes. ronnilundy.com