If you’ve been celebrating the food holidays routinely, National Fruit Cocktail Day on May 13th may be a way to improve the calorie count. Many of us have childhood memories of a dish of fruit cocktail regularly served with a meal.
Fruit cocktail consists of various kinds of fruit served in a liquid of its juices or syrup. While we purchase it in cans and individual serving cups, we can also make it fresh with berries and other fruits. Cafeterias serve fruit cocktail as a healthy fruit option in schools and at buffets, too.
Even though the word cocktail is in the name, fruit cocktail contains no alcohol. The term itself refers to a mixture and can be food or spirits. For example, the secondary definition of a cocktail is “An appetizer made by combining pieces of food, such as fruit or seafood.”
In the United States, the USDA stipulates that canned fruit cocktail must contain certain percentages of pears, grapes, cherries, peaches, and pineapples.
William Vere Cruess of the University of California, Berkeley, and also Herbert Gray of the Barron-Gray Packing Company, San Jose, California have both been credited with the invention of fruit cocktail.
HOW TO OBSERVE #FruitCocktailDay
Serve some fruit cocktail with your meals or snack to celebrate. You could even make your own. Another way to celebrate is by developing your own. Be sure to share your favorite combination using #FruitCocktailDay to post on social media.
