Sunday Delights: Tropical fruit salad

Tropical Fruit Salad

First things first: A few facts about Tropical Fruits

They come from the tropics, i.e. the region of the globe between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The climate in the tropics is usually warm and humid and therefore creates a good environment for the growth of these types of fruits.
Examples of tropical fruits are mangoes, oranges, tangerines, melons, avocados, lychees, pineapples, papayas, guavas, passion fruit, kiwis and bananas.
These fruits are very colourful.
They are very refreshing.
They are incredibly tasty.
They have many nutrients including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, carbohydrates and healthy fats.
They can be eaten in their raw form.
They can be canned or bottled.
They can accompany a variety of salty and sweet dishes.
Some tropical fruits can be very expensive if you buy them in places where they are not grown.

Here are some examples of tropical fruits mentioned before:

Now that you know what tropical fruits are, let’s start preparing our Tropical Fruit Salad.

Step # 1: Gather all the ingredients and equipment you will need for the preparation

List of ingredients:

1 ripe mango
2 oranges
2 tangerines
1/2 a lime
1 ripe banana
1 apple
1 teaspoonful of sugar

List of equipment:

A kettle for boiling water.
A paring knife for peeling and cutting the fruits. You can use a big knife if you want.
A plastic or wooden chopping board to be used as a cutting board.
A citrus squeezer for squeezing out the juice from the orange.
Two medium-sized bowls (one bowl will be used for washing the fruits and keeping them afterwards while the other one can be used to receive the peelings from the fruits.)
A teaspoon for measuring the sugar.
Two tablespoons for mixing the fruit salad.
Paper towels or a kitchen towel for keeping your hands and the working surface clean. You can also use a piece of cloth.

Please find some of the ingredients and equipment below:

Download worksheets:

Step #2: Wash and dry the fruits

Place the fruits in a bowl and wash them in a sink.

Once you have finished, shake out all excess water and dry well with a tea towel.

Step #3: Prepare the syrup for the fruit salad

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze out the juice using a citrus squeezer or your hands.

Put hot water in a bowl (preferably a glass one) and set it aside.

Add a teaspoonful of sugar and stir for at least 30 seconds.

Cut a lime in half and squeeze out the juice from a half of it.

Add the freshly squeezed lime to the mixture of orange juice and sugar.

Put the small bowl on top of the other bowl which contains hot water. Stir for at least 30 seconds again.

Set the mixture aside when you have finished stirring.

Step #4: Cut and peel the orange

Cut both ends of the orange and then remove all the sides, taking care to remove the pith as well. The pith is the white layer that is found between the peeling and the fruit itself. Use a paring knife for best results.

Once you are done, you can then scoop out the skinned orange into a bowl. You can learn how to do this by watching this useful video.