TROPICAL FRUIT TIPS

Tropical Fruit Goes With Prepared Cake Mixes

Want an exotic dessert? Adding tropical fruit to a cake mix gives it an interesting texture and flavor. Select a cake mix that can be baked in a tube pan. Substitute 1 cup drained and diced tropical fruit for 1/4 cup water and follow directions on the package for a tube-pan cake. Cooking may diminish the fruit's fresh flavor, so enhance the tropical taste by adding diced or mashed tropical fruit to the frosting.

Banana-On-A-Stick

Select firm, straight bananas. Peel and skewer lengthwise with a wooden chopstick. Wrap securely in foil or freezer bags and freeze from 3 hours to 2 months. To serve, coat frozen banana with chocolate topping, which hardens on contact with a cold surface. Banana can be rolled in macadamia nut bits, crushed cereal, or wheat germ before chocolate hardens.

Create Your Own Tropical Fruit Ice Cream

Fresh tropical fruit puree, pineapple or mango, for example, canbe stirred into softened ice cream and refrozen. Use about one-thirdtropical fruit puree to two-thirds ice cream or frozen yogurt.Be adventurous! Use flavors other than strawberry or vanilla forthe base.

Hot-On-Cool

A tropical fruit topping for ice cream, sorbet, or frozen yogurtadds a glamorous, exotic taste. Warm pineapple, mango, banana,tangerine, lychee, or carambola pieces in the microwave or onstovetop. If desired, stir in some orange or almond-flavored liqueur.Voila! A fantastic topping.

Green Papaya Relish

One large, green papaya yields about 2 cups relish. Peel, deseed papaya. Use food processor cheese shredder attachment to shred papaya. Mix shreds with 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 minced, mild chili pepper. Add salt and coarse black pepper to taste and chill before serving. This pale, green relish complements fish and seafood.

Pomegranate Syrup (Grenadine)

Use 4 pomegranates to make about 2 cups of pomegranate syrup. After removing seeds, process with food processor knife blade. Simmer pulp with 1/4 cup honey over low heat 3 minutes. Stir well. Strain to remove seeds. Use in beverages, salad dressings, entrees, and dessert sauces.

Tropical Salad Dressing

Make a tropical fruit salad dressing which is good on both fruitor green salads by adding 1/4 cup chopped or pureed fruit to onecup salad dressing. The fruit can be added to an oil, French,Russian, or ranch-style dressing.

Tropical Fruit Marinade

Mix equal parts low sodium soy sauce, catsup, and a tropical fruitpuree. Mango, pineapple, guava, and papaya work well. This easy-to-makemarinade is good for beef, poultry, and seafood. Chilies, garlic,or gingerroot can be added if desired.Food Safety Precaution: Leftover marinade used for beef, poultry, and fish can contain harmful bacteria. While boiling marinade does kill bacteria, it is better to discard it. Reserve an unused portion which can be refrigerated and warmed to use later.

Tropical All-Fruit Spread

Replace traditional jam making methods that use large amounts of sugar and cook the freshness from fruit with an all-fruit spread. Select a fruit pectin that makes "light" jam and uses little or no sugar. Fruit pectin, available in supermarkets, makes an all-fruit spread that cooks in minutes, sets up in 24 hours, and stores in the refrigerator. Rather than sweeten the all-fruit spread during preparation, add honey to the finished product for those who prefer a sweeter taste.

This modern jam method works well with mango, pineapple, papaya, lychee, and sapodilla. Add lime or lemon zest and a cinnamon stick for an attractive, fresh, and wholesome gift.

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