My Mom started making this fruit dessert salad as a Christmas dish because of its bright and enticing colors. The big red maraschino cherries looked so inviting amongst the usual red and green cheer of Christmas. One year my brother requested this dish for his birthday in July and it soon became the “dish” of summer. Guest clamor for the recipe and it has become one of my mothers many prized dishes. She passed it down to me and on its yellowed and worn recipe card it still holds a place as my favorite summer dish.
This dish is a delectable array of color with the orange mandarins, big red maraschinos and green grapes. The glaze is transparent and adds a glossy sheen to the dish that will make mouths water for a taste. This cool and refreshing dish is full of flavorful fruit glazed in a delicious juice and pudding mixture that is a hit anytime of the year!
Here’s what you need:
1 can crushed pineapple
2 cans mandarin oranges
2 cans mixed fruit
1-jar maraschino cherries drained
3 medium bananas sliced
1 pkg. vanilla cook and serve pudding
1 pkg. tapioca pudding
Here’s what you do:
Drain the juice from the pineapple, mandarin oranges and mixed fruit and save 3 cups of the juice. Set the drained fruit aside in a large bowl.
Combine vanilla and tapioca pudding with 3 cups of juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until thickened stirring often.
Add the thickened pudding mixture to the drained fruit and mix well. When cooled add the sliced bananas and cherries. Refrigerate and serve chilled.
Everyone loves this dish. It is easy to make and yields a large bowl so it is great for potlucks or cookouts. We used this dish to host large graduation parties and it will keep in the fridge for about 9-10 days. If you do store it in the fridge you may want to refresh it by adding newer sliced bananas. It was very convenient to make it a few days ahead of the party and add the bananas and cherries right before serving.
Variations can easily be made by the choice of fruit you use. At Christmas time my mother always added the red and green maraschino cherries. During the summer strawberries and blueberries may add a patriotic theme to this dish for July 4th.
The juice and pudding glaze is a very tasty easy to make glaze that can add to any existing fruit salad recipe.
