Rainbow Fruit Salad – Strawberry Fields Forever

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(Rainbow Fruit Salad – recipe in post)

In my month long salad-a-day challenge, I would be amiss to only speak about greens. Enter: fruit salad. I’ve been wanting to throw together a nice fruit salad ever since I saw fresh strawberries hit the shelves – joy! – but plucking a pint from the produce section wasn’t good enough for me…

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U-Pick berries are where it’s at – I just can’t get enough of standing (or kneeling) in the fields, hands stained with juice, and eating two berries for every one that finds its way into the basket. Besides getting the fruit as fresh as can be, and supporting local farmers, picking your own is by far cheaper than store-bought. Thank goodness for that, because before I knew it I had picked over 20lbs!

Looking over the field you might not see many berries, but pulling back the leaves reveals great clusters of ripe, juicy fruit.

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After bringing them home, I quickly washed and dried them all, only to discover that every container and every inch of fridge space would never be enough. Many will be frozen, but stay tuned for more strawberry recipes!

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Tip: wash fresh berries in 1 part white vinegar to 10 parts water, to clean and kill any mold spores. Simply fill a large bowl with the water/vinegar solution, dunk the berries, and give them a swirl. This will knock off any dirt and debris, which will sink down to the bottom of the bowl. Remove the berries to a single a layer on a clean kitchen towel, and let them air dry. Store uncovered in the fridge, or cut and freeze for later use. This can be done with any fresh fruit, and does not alter the flavor.

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First up, my rainbow fruit salad. I adore fresh fruit – there is no alternative to slicing into a whole pineapple, or biting into a peach. I scoff at those canned fruit cocktails, away with them! This is the real deal. Pineapple, mango, strawberries, melon, kiwi, pear, banana, citrus wedges… everything ripe under the rainbow! Use what you like, what’s in season, what’s local, or even what’s wild and new. The sky is the limit!

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A pleasant pick-me-up, or the perfect cool down. A jubilee of flavors, and the perfect compliment to summer. Keep it fresh and light, or serve with yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream for a beat-the-heat treat. Fold whipped cream into the leftovers and refrigerate for dessert the next day.

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Rainbow Fruit Salad

Use any and all fresh fruit you can find, and personalize the salad as you like. Stacking the fruit in color sequence is optional, but I’ve provided the ingredients in the order in which they should be added to the bowl if you should want to.
1/2 lb. red grapes
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 honeydew melon
2-3 kiwi
1 mango (for a tutorial on how-to cube mango, click here)
1/2 pineapple (for a tutorial on how-to slice pineapple, click here)
1 banana
2 pears
1/2 cantelope
2 clementines or other wedges of citrus (optional)
1-2 nectarines (or other stone fruit)
1/4-1/2 watermelon
1 quart fresh strawberries

Optional:
Mint to garnish
Yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream for serving
Method:
Wash and dry all of the fruit. Slice, cube, or otherwise cut to desired size and shape. Add the ingredients to the bowl either in reverse rainbow order (purple, blue, green, yellow, etc.), or toss all ingredients to combine. Garnish with mint, and serve with a dollop of yogurt or whipped cream, or over ice cream. Alternatively, fold the fruit into whipped cream and chill. This makes a decadent dessert that will last a couple days with refrigeration.
Enjoy!

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31 Responses to Rainbow Fruit Salad – Strawberry Fields Forever

  1. Abby June 6, 2012 at 8:34 pm #

    I swear you take the most gorgeous photos!! You bring us right into the strawberry field. I could eat that salad every single day and be one happy girl!

    • Willow June 6, 2012 at 8:45 pm #

      Thanks, Abby! I can never get enough fruit – I don’t know how clear the magnitude of that bowl is, but it’s really big… and it’s almost empty already! :o

  2. Jen @ Juanita's Cocina June 7, 2012 at 12:01 am #

    Rainbows!!!!

    *it’s like most people’s distraction by shiny things…only with me it’s rainbows…*

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 12:15 am #

      Haha! I’ll have to do more rainbow-themed recipes. ;)

  3. Foodie Stuntman June 7, 2012 at 12:21 am #

    Not a huge fan of fruit salads but this looks yummy!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 12:48 pm #

      Hard to beat fresh ingredients. :)

  4. mjskit June 7, 2012 at 1:15 am #

    What a beautiful bowl of fruit! I wouldn’t mess this up with a dressing or anything. It’s perfect!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 12:49 pm #

      Indeed! Though a dollop of whipped cream never hurt… ;)

  5. Courtney J June 7, 2012 at 4:21 am #

    This is the prettiest salad I’ve ever seen! Yum!!!!! Love all of the fruit you included in your fruit salad. I should make a bowl of this salad this weekend, so I can snack on fresh fruit all next week. Mmmm!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 12:50 pm #

      Thanks! That was my thought – this bowl should last a few days – but it didn’t. I went through it in less than 24 hours. :P

  6. glutenfreehappytummy.com June 7, 2012 at 4:29 am #

    wow! that is absolutely gorgeous!! all those colors! beautiful photos too! thanks for sharing!

  7. Sophia Silvio June 7, 2012 at 11:13 am #

    Nice!! It’s colorful, healthy looking salad.. The strawberries you have there looks so yummy.. Try make your own emulsified salad cream.. I found it in Thesaladsite.com.. It gives me more ideas in making salads!!

  8. Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes June 7, 2012 at 4:24 pm #

    Beautiful Salad Willow! I still have a few weeks until the PYO is open – I called last week for an updated and the farmer actually giggled a little at my eagerness :) Isn’t crazy how quickly you can pick 20 pounds – I can get into such a rythem and get completely lost in picking that I always end up with more than 20 pounds – I love fresh strwberries and you are so right – fresh is where it’s at!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 4:30 pm #

      Thanks! I love PYO… mine opened up last week, but I wasn’t able to go until just the other day.
      I was only out in the field for maybe 45 minutes, and had no idea I had picked so many! Crazy how carried away you can get. I still have blueberries in my freezer from picking 11+ lbs. last year. Certainly not a bad thing! :)

  9. lizchewy June 7, 2012 at 5:30 pm #

    I love fruit salads and never in a million years would I have thought of the possibility of a rainbow fruit salad. Great post!!!

    Liz
    chewylove.blogspot.com

  10. meetyourtreat June 7, 2012 at 6:08 pm #

    Just beautiful, it’s raining outside here but this salad seriously just brightened things up a bit, now I really can’t wait to go strawberry picking!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 8:16 pm #

      Wonderful! This was my first year for strawberries (have done blueberries and raspberries in the past) and it was great! The picking was so quick and easy, I hardly had to worry about heat or bugs. :)

  11. Kristy June 7, 2012 at 6:50 pm #

    I am so jealous of your strawberry bounty! And the 4th picture down is gorgeous!!! Thank you for tip on washing with vinegar- I have never heard that before and will definitely be giving it a try.

    Gorgeous fruit salad too. I usually make one similar to that in the summer, but it is gone after one day (my stepkids are fruit-lovers). I’ll have to try this one and hide it! ;-)

    • Kristy June 7, 2012 at 8:12 pm #

      P.S. I have been so inspired by your lovely site that I’ve passed an award on to you in today’s post! Keep up the fantastic work!

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 8:17 pm #

      Wonderful! Thank you so much! :D

  12. Oishii Treats June 7, 2012 at 9:16 pm #

    Gorgeous salad! I love berry picking. Theres a great little town called Nanbu in Japan that I love to drive to and go berry picking in the fields. A Japanese farmer actually meets up with you at a community building and they take you to their farm. Your fruit salad is very pretty and wish I had a bowl right now for breakfast.

    • Willow June 7, 2012 at 9:32 pm #

      Oh, how cool! Wish there were a place like that here. :)

  13. Elana @ The Inventive Vegetarian June 8, 2012 at 4:53 am #

    Beautiful salad! Fresh fruit salads are my absolute favorite dessert, especially in the summer when all the best fruits are in season.

    • Willow June 8, 2012 at 12:17 pm #

      Same here! I can never get enough fruit. :)

  14. Subhie Arun June 8, 2012 at 11:28 am #

    lovely n colorful salads..v tempting…lov ur space ..v cool with lot of good recipes…glad to follow u

    visit me,
    http://subhieskitchen.blogspot.co.uk

    • Willow June 8, 2012 at 12:17 pm #

      Thanks, glad to have you as a reader!

  15. LP @dishclips June 9, 2012 at 6:06 am #

    Beautiful fruit salad. I love the layers!

  16. MyFudo™ June 9, 2012 at 8:31 am #

    I am in love with your wonderful fruit basket…What lovely colors! Everyone in the household will love this.

    • Willow June 10, 2012 at 12:57 am #

      Wonderful! Glad you like. :)

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