Ambrosia salad

Ambrosia is a greek word meaning immortality. Ambrosia is often considered the food or drink of the Greek gods. Often thought to offer longevity or immortality. Mythology talks of ambrosia being brought to the gods in Olympus by doves.

I recall completing an assignment with my oldest son in his advanced English class in high school. The goal was to create a dish to share with the group that was related to Mythology. Being one of his fathers favorite dishes he decided he would create Ambrosia salad. After all ambrosia was the food of the gods.

Ambrosia is a variation on the traditional fruit salad. Most ambrosia recipes contain fresh or sweetened pineapple, mandarin oranges or fresh orange sections. Mini marshmallows and coconut are commonly found in ambrosia recipes. Maraschino cherries, bananas, strawberries, grapes, pecans are all ingredients that may be found in the salad as well. There is also a creamy ingredient such as whipped cream, sour cream, cream cheese, pudding, yogurt or cottage cheese. The salad is normally chilled several hours or overnight before serving.

 

1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
4 ounces sour cream
1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup freshly grated coconut
1 cup toasted, chopped pecans, optional
1/2 cup drained maraschino cherries
1 15 oz. can fruit cocktail drained
1 8-oz. can pineapple chunks,  drained
1 11-oz. can mandarin oranges, drained
3 C. miniature marshmallows – optional

Place the cream and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip until stiff peaks are formed.
Add the sour cream and whisk to combine.
Add the marshmallows, fruit cocktail, mandarins, pineapple, coconut, pecans and cherries and stir to combine.
Transfer to a glass serving bowl, cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.

recipe source here