Games and Crafts, Ingredients

Summer on a Tray

by Irene

Many thanks to Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner for graciously hosting her “Summer on a Tray Blog Tour”, featuring creations from a group of bloggers, with this common theme. 

summer on a tray blog tour

Welcome to my contribution to the tour, following Jenna @ The Painted Apron.   

What can be more inviting on a hot summer day than a tray of seasonal fruit?  For this tour, I started with a white rectangular tray, as a neutral base to enhance the colours of the fruit; I chose four varieties of tropical fruit that are in season in Mexico right now.  Although of the four only two are originally Mexican, the other two were introduced to the country during Spanish colonial times, and have become traditional selections at the Mexican table; can you guess which ones are which? In the photo below, top left, sandía (watermelon); top right, papaya; bottom left and right, mangos; and bottom centre, pitahaya (dragon fruit):

Pitahaya (Dragon Fruit) – (Selenicereus undatus, formerly Hylocereus sp.) is a climbing cactus, native to Mexico and Central America, which produces a colourful fruit; once sliced, many small edible black seeds, embedded in the sweetest pulp, are revealed inside:

Pitahaya was introduced to Vietnam by the French, where it acquired the name of thanh long – dragon fruit, and today, it is also grown in many other subtropical regions, such as Australia, the Philippines and Malaysia. Pitahaya/dragon fruit has become very popular worldwide thanks to this Asian market; it has also been recognized as a good source of calcium, vitamins (such as C and B), minerals, and fibre.

Sandía (Watermelon) – I never pass an opportunity to feature this fruit, originally from The Old World, but forever imprinted in Mexican culture as an Art icon (including the logo of this blog); cutting a section of watermelon shows off its green, white and red tones, the same as Mexico’s national colours:

It is believed that watermelon originated somewhere between the Middle East and North Africa.  The Moors introduced watermelon to Spain, and Spanish settlers in the American continent were growing it in Florida as early as 1573.  Watermelon is an important commodity worldwide, with Mexico currently being amongst the top five exporters of the tricolour fruit.

Papaya – I was rather surprised that I had never featured this fruit on my blog until now, especially since it is native to Mexico and other tropical regions in the American continent.  Greenish to yellow or orange on the outside, a papaya sliced in half lengthwise may show yellow, to pinkish orange pulp, and many black seeds in the centre:

The peel and seeds are not edible, but they are used to extract papain, an enzyme that breaks down protein; this enzyme is a well-trusted meat tenderizer, and it is also known anecdotally as a remedy to fight wound infections, and jellyfish stings.

Mangos – originally from Asia, currently with India, Indonesia, and China as top producers.  The fruit was introduced to Mexico in the 16th century by Spanish traders, directly from The Philippines, thanks to the trading route of the Manila Galleon to the port of Acapulco; currently, Mexico is the fifth top producer of mango in the world.  There are many mango varieties, which fall mainly into two categories: the red and round, with a flat pit (photo below, left, with one mango peeled like a banana); and the yellow, which are smaller and more elongated (such as shown below, right, Ataulfo mangoes, one sliced lengthwise):

Once all the fruit had been prepared, I rearranged them on the white tray, for the final presentation: 

For some recipes using these delicious fruits, click on highlighted text:  What is Pico de Gallo?; Crazy Snacks; Watermelon Smoothie; Pitaya or Pitahaya? And stay tuned for my next post, with a recipe for mango ice cream. 

Thank you so much for dropping by!  Please continue the tour with Niki @ Life as a LEO Wife.

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I am sharing my post at Thursday Favourite Things #618, with Bev @ Eclectic Red Barn, Pam @ An Artful Mom, Katherine @ Katherine’s Corner, Amber @ Follow the Yellow Brick Home, and Linda @ Crafts a la Mode.

I am joining Senior Salon Pit Stop #271, hosted by Esmé @ Esme Salon, Estelle @ Homemade on a Weekday, Maria @ Krafty Planner, Melynda @ Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household, and Julie @ Kalungi Group.

31 thoughts on “Summer on a Tray”

  3. Hi there! Nature’s color palette is always the prettiest, isn’t it? Love your pretty fruit tray and it looks so refreshing!
    Blessings, Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addiction

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  4. Wonderful post that educates as well as delights with your photos. I learned a lot from this post. I’ve seen dragon fruit at the store but wasn’t sure what to do with it so didn’t buy it. Sounds like you cut it in half and spoon out the middle to eat?

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    1. Hi, MsJadeLi! Yeah, dragon fruit is so sweet and flavourful you don’t need to do much to enjoy it; of course it is also lovely in a fruit cocktail, or served with frozen yogurt or ice cream. One of my daughters was into breakfast bowls, and dragon fruit looks beautiful in a “cereal landscape”, too. LOL

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  10. Irene,
    Ingenious to do a tray displayed such refreshing fruit from Mexico!! Great idea!! Looks like they would really help to cool you off in this heat!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! Great touring with you!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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    1. Heehee, I know; as a kid I always thought mangoes were Mexican, but I guess the fact that we called them “Manila mangoes ” should have been a clue. Cool that you joined the tour!

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  14. Wow what a gorgeous fruit tray, Irene! I can’t think of a better way to do Summer than that! And I love all the history. It’s fascinating to know where the fruits came from and how they traveled – how fun that watermelon has the Mexican colors! Thanks for the great post, and it’s wonderful touring with you! Hope you have a great summer!

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  16. Pingback: Guerrero Style Chicken Stew – Estofado de pollo – My Slice of Mexico

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