Italian fruit salad (Macedonia recipe)

 Italian strawberry legend

Oh, how strong love is after all! Even the Roman goddess Venus could not resist this power, she succumbed to temptation and fell in love with young Adonis. No wonder, he was a handsome man, and it seems that he knew how to find an approach to the weaker sex, because besides Venus, also Persephone, the goddess queen of the underworld fell in love with him. Adonis had no time for ordinary mortal girls because he spent one-third of the year with Persephone, another third with Venus (and no, it was by no means his whim – everything was legally decided by the court led by the muse Calliope. And since paying attention to two goddesses is not so easy as picking flowers in a field, you can only imagine how poor Adonis was tired! Therefore, for the last third part of the year, he legally had to relax by a court decision. But Venus was a cunning woman, she wove herself a belt out of lust, and this was the end of Adonis’ relax: he started spending the last third of the year with Venus too.

Such injustice didn’t allow Persephone to sleep peacefully! Everyone knows that a sleepy woman is a terrible force, and if she is also angry, then it is better to run from her as far as possible. Persephone went to Ares (he, too, had a love affair with Venus… … well, don’t forget that she was the goddess of love, so being in love with several handsome men at once was quite a normal thing for her and no one was surprised. But this fact made Ares very angry, so he didn’t hesitate long and turned into a wild boar (you know, rather big and very evil) and ran into the forest. Unfortunately, Adonis was in the forest at the time too. Normally, he and Venus would hunt together in the mountains and forests of Cyprus, but that particular day Venus really needed to go to some meeting on Olympus. Before that, of course, she prepared a fridge full of food for Adonis, so that he would have something to eat while she was at work on Olympus. But Adonis wasn’t able to sit still: he ate and went to look for something to do. There was nothing interesting on TV, and he had read all the newspapers a long time ago, so he decided to go hunting for a while. There he was found by Ares in the form of a well-fed boar. It was Adonis’ last hunt… I will not recount all the details of the struggle between him and the angry boar. I will only say that the boar won.

Poor Venus cried so much when she learned of the tragedy… Her tears fell to the ground in large drops, and when they touched the ground, they immediately turned into bright red berries, which in their shape resembled a heart. This is how the strawberries (a symbol of eternal love) appeared. Well, at least that’s what the ancient Roman legend says.

Strawberries are delicious not only in old fashioned fruit salad 

How much I love… no, I Love… or better yet, I LOVE strawberries! I just adore them! They are wonderful in any form: fresh from the garden, warmed by the sun and wrapped in the fresh spring or summer air; sliced and generously decorated with whipped sweet cream; as a filling in tender cupcakes and pies; or as an addition to a refined cake with cream. And an Italian fruit salad without strawberries is not a fruit salad, but a banal mixture of chopped Italian fruit.

What is Italian macedonia fruit salad?

It’s a symbol of Italian spring and summer, when the Italian strawberry melody sounds at full sound. And even if someone calls it an old fashioned fruit salad, this light bright fruit dessert is always appropriate for any table and for any company. It’s traditionally made with strawberry, banana and kiwi (no wonder – this combination of fruit resembles the colors of Italian flag).

My favorite Italian old fashioned fruit salad formula

For years now, I’ve been making Italian Macedonia fruit salad without deviating from my time-tested formula: three kinds of fruit and orange juice. The last ingredient is very important! Not only does it add an interesting sweetness, but it also helps to keep the fruit salad fresh and attractive (The juice’s miraculous power will keep a sliced banana from turning black, a kiwi will stay bright green, and a strawberry will look like it was just plucked from the garden).

Ingredients for Italian macedonia:

• strawberries
• kiwi
• bananas
• orange
• sugar (optional)

How to make Italian strawberry, banana and kiwi salad

Chop the kiwi, strawberries, and bananas (not too finely, the pieces should be medium)