Fresh pineapple, berries and nothing else make up this light and refreshing fruit salad that made its way to the Times Leader taste testers when inclement weather canceled a potluck supper.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
TL testers almost didn’t get to taste this one
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When Mark asked if I was going to take food to the Times Leader taste testers this week, I actually said no, because I intended to make a fruit salad for a potluck supper our friends Rob and Margaret had planned — and I figured I could collect quotes from everyone at that little outdoor gathering.
But the weather didn’t cooperate, the get-together turned into a Zoom meeting, and I ended up offering fruit salad to my trusty team of Times Leader taste testers after all.
The salad was a mix of red and black raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and chunks of fresh pineapple, to which I’d added — drumroll, please — absolutely nothing.
No sugar, no ginger, no cinnamon, I told the taste testers, listing common fruit salad ingredients. No mint leaves, no orange juice, no rum.
“Well, I wouldn’t have complained if you’d added rum,” said reporter and taste tester Ryan Evans, who said he liked the plain fruit just fine. “I’ve always been a big fruit person.”
Other tasters also were happy.
“I loved it,” said page designer Toni Pennello. “I liked that it was very berry heavy. When the weather gets warm, all I want to eat is fruit.”
“I really enjoyed it,” said page designer Lyndsay Bartos, pointing to the fresh pineapple and red raspberries as the best part.
“It’s deceptively simple, and all the flavors complement each other,” news editor Roger DuPuis said. “It’s the sort of dish I’d guess they had at old-style church picnics.”
“I can see that,” I said. “And maybe everyone would have gone out with baskets beforehand to pick the berries.”
“Everything except the pineapple,” Roger said.
“This one came from Costa Rica,” I said, noting that the berries also came a great distance, and when the local crops are in season they should taste even better.
Actually, despite not having local ingredients, this fruit salad tasted quite good, especially after it had chilled for a few hours. By then the various berries had relinquished some of their juices and it all blended together for a refreshing mix.
I realize some people might think this dish is overly simple. To that I say, “Why complicate things when you don’t have to?”
Here’s how I made the salad, in recipe form:
Refreshing Berry Salad
1 fresh pineapple
1 pint strawberries
1 pint red raspberries
1 pint blueberries
1 cup black raspberries
Trim pineapple and cut into bite-size chunks. Hull and quarter strawberries. Leave other berries intact. Mix in large bowl, gently tossing with spoons so berries will release some of their juice. Serve chilled.
