Southern Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Classic Chilled Salad with Mandarin Oranges, Coconut, and Nuts
Sep 6, 2009
It’s hard to track various recipes, but many Southerners think that Ambrosia Salad was introduced in the South by river boat cooks who traveled up and down the Mississippi River making delicious feasts for river travelers in much the same way that cruise ships today host elaborate meals with many exotic and delicious dishes.
Lois Looney of North Carolina recalls her grandmother, who was a river boat cook during her younger years, making many recipes that were unusual in the mountains at the time (such as Ambrosia). Lois notes that her grandmother was considered one of the best cooks in the “holler” and that she not only created culinary masterpieces, Florence Myer also plated her dishes attractively as do chefs today on popular food shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
“I think my grandmother was ahead of her time,” says Lois.
Ambrosia Salad is a Delicious Retro Dish
Ambrosia became a popular chilled salad or dessert dish during the 1950s (though it dates back to the 1800s), but it slowly slipped off the culinary map over the years. With the revival of retro cooking and with the success of movies like Julie and Julia (a tribute to Julia Child), Ambrosia and other favorite recipes of days gone by are being celebrated by a new generation.
Southern Ambrosia Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cans Mandarin orange slices (16 oz. cans)
- 1 jar maraschino cherries (8 oz can)
- 1 ½ cup flaked coconut
- 1 cartoon sour cream (8 oz)
- 1 can pineapple chunks drained (16 oz)
- 1 bag miniature marshmallows (1 lb bag)
- ½ cup chopped nuts (pecans are good)
Directions:
- Prepare the ingredients by draining the juice off the Mandarin orange slices and pineapple, cutting the cherries in half, and chopping the nuts.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and gently stir until the mixture is smooth with the fruits and nuts evenly dispersed.
- Cover the mixture with a lid or with Saran wrap and chill for a few hours or all day (or even overnight). This allows the flavors to meld.
- Either before chilling or after chilling, it works best to transfer the ambrosia salad from the mixing bowl to a serving bowl. The mixing bowl will have traces on the salad on the sides of the bowl which look unsightly. Putting the salad into a clean bowl makes for a nicer presentation.
More Classic Southern Salad Recipes:
Chilled Kidney Bean Salad - Packed with protein, Kidney Bean Salad is tasty and easy to make.
Wilted Lettuce Salad - It doesn't get any more Southern than this salad flavored with bacon grease.
Apple Cabbage Salad - For a change of pace, this is a very nice fall salad.
Grandma's Broccoli Salad - Perfect for picnics and pot luck dinners, this easy-to-make salad is always a favorite.
Cranberry Salad - This salad is very pretty and is wonderful for holiday meals.
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