An Exception to the Rule

Pineapple-Papaya Salad with Berries and Lime

I know what you’re thinking. Luisa, is that a fruit salad? Is this newsletter going to be about fruit salad? And yes, dear reader, yes on both counts. But don’t leave yet! I promise it’ll be worth it.

Here’s the thing about fruit salads. They’re mostly awful? No question mark. They’re mostly awful. There, I said it. If I’m at a party and there’s fruit salad, I simply will not eat it. Period. Cut-up fruit gets soggy and weird, especially when it’s warm out. A lot of fruit that is delicate and deliciously ripe doesn’t hold up well when tossed. And combining fruit is kind of an art form? A lot of fruit doesn’t go well with just anything!¹ When I think about the worst offenders in fruit salad, grapes and chopped apples come to mind, but so does unripe melon. Now imagine a squashed, slightly swollen strawberry mixed in there. Beurk. And an orange segment, its usually gorgeous bitter note discordant against the sugary grape and feathery apple?! I mean, what the fuck, people. Sorry, but no.

When I think about it, the best fruit salads are the ones that feature just one fruit: mono fruit salads, if you will. Think ripe peaches, peeled, cut into slivers, tossed with lemon juice, and a bit of white wine, if you want to be boozy. Think ripe strawberries, quartered and tossed with sugar and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. Or, for a somewhat savory spin, chunks of drippy, perfectly ripe cantaloupe melon liberally seasoned with Tajin. You can let any of these salads (“salads²”) sit without deteriorating; in fact, they benefit from a little snooze.

BUT. BUT. Today, I would like to tell you about a fruit salad that is the exception to the rule of mixed fruit salads. This fruit salad combines the following: fresh pineapple, papaya, blackberries, blueberries and the juice of an entire lime. And believe you me: the flavors and textures are perfect together.

Essential, of course, is that the quality of the fruit be top notch: the blueberries must be firm and tart, emphatically not mushy and bland. The pineapple has to be perfectly ripe. The blackberries velvety and juicy. The papaya slick and sweet. The lime juice is essential because it lifts the papaya out of insipidness and brings it to life. The pops of the dark berries against the silkier orange and yellow fruit is not just delicious, but also a visual kick. The fruits all manage to keep their integrity, while also working together! The lime juice coaxes a bit of the sugary juices out to bind everything, but keeps things very tart and fresh.

(For what it’s worth, I purchased all of the fruit for this at my corner Edeka and it was all excellent. But it’s June! Use your judgment. Also, two of those fruits are definitely not local. To be clear: I don’t make a habit of buying tropical fruit, in fact, I only do so a few times a year. But for this salad, when the fruit is this good, it’s worth it.)

I’ve made this fruit salad just before serving and it’s been great. I’ve let it sit for about two hours before serving and it’s been great. I’ve even refrigerated the leftovers and eaten them the next day and they’ve been great. (My husband, God bless him, mixed this into his hot oatmeal³ the next day and still won’t shut up about it.) It’s excellent as a fancy addition to a brunch spread, but also as a dessert. It’s very good with plain yogurt. I am pretty sure you will love it⁴.

Here are my tips for success:

• Do not buy pre-cut pineapple or canned pineapple. Buy a fresh one, prepare it yourself. You’ll be fine. It takes two minutes. And don’t chunk the pineapple! We want thin, elegant slices here. (Yes, I know the pineapple in these photos is chunky-ish, but I didn’t take photos of the salad I made with the thin slices and it was better than this one.)

• A ripe papaya is quite delicate, as are ripe blackberries, so you can’t vigorously toss this salad without making things muddy. You will be sort of layering this salad, rather than throwing it together. I swear the extra care is worth it.

• Taste your fruit before using it! If it’s not good, don’t use it! #followformoretips

• The recipe below is vague on quantities, because a fruit salad truly does not need exact measurements. You can easily double or halve the recipe.
  

Pineapple-Papaya Salad with Berries and Lime
Serves about 6

Half a ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
Quarter to a third of a ripe papaya, seeded and peeled, then cut into 1-inch chunks
About a cup of fresh blueberries, washed and dried, more if you like
About a cup of fresh blackberries, rinsed and air-dried, more if you like
1 fresh lime, squeezed

1. Place half the pineapple at the bottom of a serving bowl. Sprinkle with half the blueberries. Add the papaya. Repeat with the remaining pineapple, blueberries and papaya.

2. Drizzle the fruit with half the lime juice, then used your hands or two large spoons, very gently lift the fruit around so that it mixes a little bit.

3. Dot the blackberries around the fruit. Drizzle the remaining lime juice on the salad. Again, gently lift and mix the salad, taking care not to crush the blackberries or papaya. Serve immediately or cover for an hour or two before serving.

4. If you are a barbarian⁵ and like to eat cold fruit that makes your teeth contract with pain, you can chill the salad before serving, but if you’re serving this to guests, take their sensitive teeth into consideration. Also, room temperature fruit tastes better.

1. Stop putting strawberries in your savory salads for the love of Pete.

2. Now that I keep seeing the word salad here, I think it’s part of the problem. SALAD. Ugh.

3. I literally would never.

4. Unless you are allergic to pineapple. But if you’re about to delete this email because you think you hate papaya, TRY THIS SALAD FIRST. I swear that the lime and berries bring it to life.

5. That’s the Italian in me, forgive me.