A vitaminized, fresh and colorful fruit salad is a must at the end of a meal. You still need to prepare it properly. Instructions with Catherine Botti, Meilleur Ouvrier de France primeur.
Don’t protect the fruit from oxidation, season too much, or even neglect to cut it… Although making it looks like child’s play in the collective imagination, in reality there are many bad habits to avoid in order to make a “beautiful fruit salad”. , fresh, seasonal and beautifully presented.” Tips and advice from Catherine Botti, Meilleur Ouvrier de France primeur 2015, head of fruit and vegetable shop Botti Fruits in Chambéry (1).
Choose any fruit
A small reminder is important. to make a good fruit salad, it is necessary to respect the seasonality of the products used. “Generally, I prepare my salads by color or by fruit category. For example, in spring and summer, I often prepare red fruit salads or very simple combinations: peach, nectarine and apricot, or yellow melon, green and traditional Charenza.”
Do not protect the fruits from oxidation
Each fruit is unique. Some, more sensitive than others to their environment, require more attention. This is the case of apples and pears. “These are not very juicy fruits, so they oxidize quickly, they should be protected immediately.” There are many ways to do this, and they all have their own taste qualities. “You can just use orange juice, lemon juice or lime zest.” Other tips even allow you to prepare your salad the day before. “syrup allows you to preserve the fruit well, provided that it is not too ripe, but enough. It is a simple mixture of sugar and water to which spices can be added. Then it’s all poured over the salad and it’s just as good the next day. Be careful with the sugar though, you just need a little bit.” Fleur de sel also lives up to fruit-keeping expectations, “provided you’re not too heavy-handed.”
I don’t add sugar, fruits contain enough. Above all, we look for their original taste.
Catherine Botti, best employee of the French Prime Minister
Cut the fruit anyway
An important but often overlooked step in preparation is cutting, which varies from one fruit to another. “It all depends on his fitness and maturity. Generally, I cut them into small cubes of five to six millimeters, which allows you to taste each fruit in your mouth.” On the other hand, contrary to popular belief, a fruit salad doesn’t have to be served in a platter or a large salad bowl, but can just as well be served on a plate like a carpaccio. “It’s another way of doing it, but once again the cut is done according to the fruit and its ripeness to bring out all of its flavor properties.”
Heavy hand on the spices
This is the mistake that offends Catherine Botti the most: putting too much sugar in a fruit salad. “Personally, I don’t use it at all, the fruits are sweet enough. Above all, we look for their original taste.” For Primer MOF, spices and aromatic herbs reduce sugar in terms of flavor and are therefore preferred. “They should pair well with the fruits without overpowering their aromas and flavors. Personally, I love star anise or star anise, it’s very aromatic and exotic. Depending on the salad and the fruit used, I also add fresh ginger or a vanilla pod.” When it comes to aromatic herbs, anything goes if you throw them in at the last minute. “Basil, tarragon, verbena… I use it too Tagetes lucida, or Mexican tarragon, which has citrus aromas.” And for an even more subtle flavor, “you can make a tincture or infusion of selected herbs or spices that you then add to the salad.”
put banana
The fruit, widely used in salads, should be banned. It’s the banana. “It is enough for the salad to be prepared an hour before, the banana will soften and turn black.” We do without it, not because of its taste, which explains the primer, but because of its very accelerated oxidation. “Just because it’s not pretty doesn’t mean it’s not good. Can be cut and added just before service.’
(1) Catherine Botti, Botti Fruits, Place de Genève, 73000 Chambéry. Such. 09 66 93 92 22:
Source: Le Figaro
