Fruit salad is a dish consisting of various kinds of fruit, served either in their own juices or a syrup. In different forms fruit salad can be served as an appetizer, a side-salad, or a dessert. When served as an appetizer or as a dessert, a fruit salad is also known as a fruit cocktail.

Small cups of fruit salad are commonly served for dessert in American public schools. In many cases it is the only form of dessert offered.

In the United States, one of the most widely consumed brands of packaged fruit salad is manufactured by the Dole Food Company, under the name DOLE Mixed Fruit FruitBowls.

However, there are a number of home recipes for fruit salad that contain different kinds of fruit, or that use a different kind of sauce other than the fruit's own juice or syrup. One variation is a Waldorf-style fruit salad, which uses a mayonnaise-based sauce. Other recipes use sour cream, yogurt or even mustard as the primary sauce ingredient. Rojak, a Malaysian fruit salad, uses a spicy sauce with peanuts and shrimp paste.

External links

• History of fruit salad, The Food Timeline
• Recipes, CooksRecipes.com