Fruit salad stories

Extra toxic was my schedule during this last Christmas season. And so it is only now that I am enjoying the Christmas decors at home (believe it or not!) and am still in my last leg of holiday shopping for gifts to give away to friends.

This is why you have to forgive me for still being in my Christmas mode. It was only last Tuesday, in fact, that I started writing about the Christmas treats from the kitchens of my friends in show business: Susan Calo-Medina’s ensaymada, Floy Quintos’ pili pie and the fruitcake of Susan Aquino (she handles Regine Velasquez, KC Concepcion, among other celebrities who troop to Celeste Tuviera’s Symmetria Salon, which moves tomorrow to 17 M.J. Paterno St. in San Juan).

But surely there was an abundance of fruit salad given by friends for me to enjoy during the holidays. As any fruit salad lover knows, there are various ways to make this treat — served mostly during special occasions, especially during the Christmas season.

For about a decade or so, I’ve always said that former President Cory Aquino made the best fruit salad, which I tasted quite a number of times in the few functions I’ve attended in Malacañang in the past. What made Mrs. Aquino’s fruit salad different was the fact that she added lychees to the recipe — which we copied unsuccessfully at home.

Since ours turned out to be a poor imitation, we stopped making fruit salad altogether. And then in June 2007, California-based Mary Ann Opena, who is a friend to everyone in show business, flew to Manila to serve as hermana mayora in her hometown of Tipas (they have the best hopia) in Taguig. She entertained friends from the business (Eddie Gutierrez, Annabelle Rama, Mark Herras, Yasmien Kurdi, Diana Zubiri, etc.) in her well-appointed house in Lexington in San Joaquin, Pasig where Lani Misalucha is a neighbor. As in any Mary Ann Opena affair, food was in abundance. But the hit that evening was her fruit salad, which she made special by putting a lot of maraschino cherries (from the bottle). Mixed with our local green and red kaong, it looked very colorful. It became my favorite fruit salad and every time Tita Mary Ann is home I beg her to make me a huge bowl. A few weeks ago, she was in Manila again to spend the holidays here and to host a birthday party for her mother, Lina Bernabe, and I got my favorite fruit salad again.

But she has competition now and it all started because of feng shui. Before the holidays, you see, Dr. Vicki Belo and Rubby Sy of Flawless were told by their feng shui master that they should give fruit salad to friends this Christmas for them to have a fruitful year. Why not fruitcake? Or real fresh fruits? I can only hope that their feng shui master isn’t also into fruit cocktail retailing. And you should hear Lolit Solis’ wisecrack on that. It’s so funny, but unprintable.

And so we got our share of fruit salad from Vicki and Rubby and for a fruit salad lover like me that is much appreciated — especially since these came in fancy decorative containers in wood (from Rubby’s factory — she also exports knick-knacks).

But the special touch in Rubby Sy’s fruit salad was the fact that it was Flawless endorser Judy Ann Santos’ recipe. And not only that. I was told she mixed it herself. How she ever found the time — I have no idea. I guess time management. Also, it’s her passion.

And how did her fruit salad taste? I’d say it’s different from other fruit salads you and I have tasted. First time I’ve encountered a fruit salad like this one. It’s creamy and I suspect it’s because it has a cream cheese base (the last thing I want to do is text her and ask her for the recipe since it’s probably a secret).

Judy Ann’s fruit salad is extremely delicious — but most sinful. Every spoonful would drive you to hit the treadmill for a full hour as your penance. It’s also most attractive — with its surface lined with sliced canned peaches and a single cherry with the stem at the center.

In stark contrast, Dr. Vicki Belo’s fruit salad is no-fuss — just fruit cocktail and cream. She spent a whole day in the middle of the holiday season mixing the ingredients with daughter Cristalle Henares (what an adorable kid she had always been — forever Mommy’s little helper). Dr. Belo — if you didn’t know yet — is also an excellent baker and she surely knows her way around the kitchen.

Her fruit salad is the healthiest — at least, as far as fruit salads go — because it’s not so sweet. Maybe because her Christmas wasn’t exactly the sweetest in 2008? Nah! The health buff that she had always been, I’m sure she just didn’t want us to get a sugar overload. Her fruit salad, in fact, is almost guilt-free. You get to eat your fruit salad, but without worrying so much about calories.

So who made the best fruit salad? Well, this is no cop-out, but I have to say that each one has a distinct quality to it. Judy Ann Santos’ is the creamiest — and certainly most unique. Dr. Vicki Belo’s is the healthiest, while Mary Ann Opena’s is the most opulent.

Former President Aquino’s fruit salad, however, should be elevated to the hall of fame. After all, it can haughtily hold its head high against other fruit salads — having been served six years at the state-dining hall in Malacañang.

And so with that fruit salad story, allow me to belatedly wish all of you a more fruitful year ahead of us.