Ambrosia (fruit salad)

Last updated

Ambrosia
Ambrosia salad.jpg
An ambrosia salad prepared for a potluck, topped with canned mandarin orange slices, maraschino cherries, and a canned pineapple ring
Alternative names5 cup salad
Place of origin United States
Region or state Southern United States
Main ingredients Pineapple, mandarin oranges, marshmallows, and coconut

Ambrosia is an American variety of fruit salad originating in the Southern United States. [1] Most ambrosia recipes contain canned (often sweetened) or fresh pineapple, canned mandarin orange slices or fresh orange sections, miniature marshmallows, [2] and coconut. [3] Other ingredients might include various fruits and nuts: maraschino cherries, bananas, strawberries, [4] peeled grapes, or crushed pecans. Ambrosia can also include mayonnaise or dairy ingredients: whipped cream (or whipped topping), sour cream, cream cheese, pudding, yogurt, or cottage cheese.

Contents

The mixture of ingredients is refrigerated for a few hours or overnight before serving to allow the flavors to meld.

In New Zealand, ambrosia refers to a similar dish made with whipped cream, yogurt, fresh, canned or frozen berries, and chocolate chips or marshmallows loosely combined into a pudding.

The earliest known mention of the salad is in the 1867 cookbook Dixie Cookery by Maria Massey Barringer. [1] [5] The name references the food of the Greek gods. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jell-O</span> Dessert brand made by Kraft Foods

Jell-O, stylized as JELL-O, is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert, pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a registered trademark of Kraft Heinz, and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Turkey

Turkish cuisine is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. The cuisine took its current form after numerous cultural interactions throughout centuries, descending from earlier stages of Turkish cuisine, Ottoman cuisine and Seljuk cuisine. Turkish cuisine with traditional Turkic elements such as yogurt, ayran, kaymak, exerts and gains influences to and from Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern European cuisines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salad</span> Food mixture, served chilled or at room temperature

A salad is a dish consisting of mixed ingredients, frequently vegetables. They are typically served chilled or at room temperature, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a variety of flavors, are used to make a salad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Custard</span> Semi-solid cooked mixture of milk and egg

Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce to the thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs. The most common custards are used in custard desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla; however, savory custards are also found, e.g., in quiche.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trifle</span> Custard dessert

Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of sponge fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element, custard and whipped cream layered in that ascending order in a glass dish. The contents of a trifle are highly variable and many varieties exist, some forgoing fruit entirely and instead using other ingredients, such as chocolate, coffee or vanilla. The fruit and sponge layers may be suspended in fruit-flavoured jelly, and these ingredients are usually arranged to produce three or four layers. The assembled dessert can be topped with whipped cream or, more traditionally, syllabub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheesecake</span> Cheese-based dessert

Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese, eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies, graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually served chilled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit salad</span> Dish consisting of fruits

Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, sometimes served in a liquid, either their juices or a syrup. In different forms, fruit salad can be served as an appetizer or a side as a salad. A fruit salad is sometimes known as a fruit cocktail, or fruit cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jello salad</span> Dish made with flavored gelatin and fruit

Jello salad is an American salad made with flavored gelatin, fruit, and sometimes grated carrots or other vegetables. Other ingredients may include cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels. Jello salads were popular in the early 20th century and are now considered retro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watergate salad</span> American dessert salad dish

Watergate salad, also referred to as Pistachio Delight or Shut the Gate salad, is a side dish salad or dessert salad made from pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, whipped topping, crushed pecans, and marshmallows. It is very quick and simple to prepare: the ingredients are combined and then often chilled. It is a popular dish in areas of the U.S. where potlucks are common.

Armenian cuisine includes the foods and cooking techniques of the Armenian people and traditional Armenian foods and drinks. The cuisine reflects the history and geography where Armenians have lived and where Armenian empires existed. The cuisine also reflects the traditional crops and animals grown and raised in Armenian-populated or controlled areas.

A mechanical soft diet or edentulous diet, or soft food(s) diet, is a diet that involves only foods that are physically soft, with the goal of reducing or eliminating the need to chew the food. It is recommended for people who have difficulty chewing food, including people with some types of dysphagia, the loss of many or all teeth, pain from recently adjusted dental braces, or surgery involving the jaw, mouth, or gastrointestinal tract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

Afghan cuisine is influenced by Persian, Central Asian, and South Asian cuisines due to Afghanistan's close proximity and cultural ties. The cuisine is halal and mainly based on mutton, beef, poultry and fish with rice and Afghan bread. Accompanying these are common vegetables and dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, whey, and fresh and dried fruits such as apples, apricots, grapes, bananas, oranges, plums, pomegranates, sweet melons, and raisins. The diet of most Afghans revolves around rice-based dishes, while various forms of naan are consumed with most meals. Tea is generally consumed daily in large quantities, and is a major part of hospitality. The culinary specialties reflect the nation's ethnic and geographic diversity. The national dish of Afghanistan is Kabuli palaw, a rice dish cooked with raisins, carrots, nuts, and lamb or beef.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parfait</span> Frozen dessert

Parfait is either of two types of dessert. In France, where the dish originated, parfait is made by boiling cream, egg, sugar and syrup to create a custard-like or meringue-like puree which is then frozen. The American version consists of layers differentiated by the inclusion of such ingredients as granola, nuts, yogurt and liqueurs, topped off with fruits or whipped cream.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snickers salad</span> Snickers, apples, and whipped cream

Snickers salad is a dessert salad consisting of a mix of Snickers bars, Granny Smith apples, Cool Whip or whipped topping, marshmallows, and often pudding served in a bowl. It is a potluck staple in the Midwestern United States. It is sometimes included in church cookbooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strawberry delight</span> Dessert salad

Strawberry delight is a dessert salad found in the United States, especially in the South and more rural areas of Minnesota. Strawberry delight is made from milk, whipped topping, cream cheese, strawberries and strawberry gelatin over a graham cracker crust. Variations include ingredients such as ice cream, canned fruit, marshmallows, lemon juice, and walnuts. The crust ingredients are mixed and pressed in a pan with the creamy ingredients mixed and added on top. Boiling water is added to the strawberry gelatin mix, strawberries are added to it, and then that mixture is poured over the creamy mixture in the pan, all of which is then refrigerated to set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Candle salad</span> Fruit salad

Candle salad is a vintage fruit salad that was popular in America from the 1920s through to the 1960s. The salad is typically composed of lettuce, pineapple, banana, cherry, and either mayonnaise or, according to some recipes, cottage cheese. Whipped cream may also be used. The ingredients are assembled to resemble a lit candle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semolina pudding</span> Porridge-type pudding made from semolina

Semolina pudding or semolina porridge is a porridge-type pudding made from semolina, which is cooked with milk, or a mixture of milk and water, or just water. It is often served with sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, raisins, fruit, or syrup. It is similar to grain based halva or halawa. A similar consistency to rice pudding can also be made by using more semolina and by baking, rather than boiling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pie in American cuisine</span> History and cultural significance of pies in American cuisine

Pie in American cuisine evolved over centuries from savory game pies with inedible free-standing crusts. When sugar became more widely available women made simple sweet fillings with a handful of basic ingredients. By the 1920s and 1930s there was growing consensus that cookbooks needed to be updated for the modern electric kitchen. New appliances, recipes and convenience food ingredients changed the way Americans made iconic dessert pies like key lime pie, coconut cream pie and banana cream pie.

References

  1. 1 2 Barringer, Maria Massey (1867). Dixie cookery; or, How I managed my table for twelve years. A practical cook-book for southern housekeepers. The Library of Congress via Open Library. Boston, Loring. p. 62.
  2. Teal, Kimberley. "Ambrosia Fruit Salad". Allrecipes.com . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  3. "ambrosia". Dictionary.com . Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  4. Lagasse, Emeril (2000). "Kicked Up Ambrosia Salad Parfaits". Food Network . Archived from the original on December 26, 2013. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  5. McNeilly, Claudia (November 6, 2018). "Why ambrosia salad is the forgotten holiday dish that deserves our attention". nationalpost.com. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  6. Griffiths, Alan H. (1996), "Ambrosia", in Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Anthony, Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN   0-19-521693-8