When was the last time you had a truly enjoyable fruit salad? In my experience, they are few and far between. Most versions are a mishmash of randomly tossed together fruit — neither attractive nor delicious — which is a shame because fresh fruit salads can be lovely desserts. To ensure that mine live up to their full potential, I employ two simple tricks: I follow certain rules about which fruits can go together, and I toss the fruit with an infused syrup to add an unexpected but complementary flavor twist.

Keep related fruits together

我喜欢将浆果与浆果，瓜一起用瓜子，结石和石果。这种“喜欢的方式”的方法可能令人惊讶 - 对比和多样性通常是一件好事 - 但是使用水果沙拉，选择类似的水果使质地更具吸引力。当您开始将许多非常多样化的水果扔在一起时，它们的质地往往会变得模糊（认为酥脆的苹果用成熟的香蕉扔了），并且您会失去对每个果实品格的感觉。

在一类水果中，通常有足够的选择来使风味保持有趣。在Berry家族中，您有草莓，蓝莓，覆盆子和黑莓。瓜沙拉有六个或更多的瓜子可供选择。石果包括桃子，油桃，杏子，羽毛和李子（加上特定品种，例如红李子，黑李子，意大利李子）。您可以制作带有各种木瓜和芒果的热带水果沙拉，或者用菠萝，猕猴桃和星际果果。

An infused syrup gives an aromatic accent

To deliver a subtle aroma and intriguing flavor, I toss the fruit with a sugar syrup that I’ve infused with a complementary flavor. In the recipes here, I’ve chosen fresh ginger, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, and vanilla bean. You could also try mint or tarragon or another fresh herb, lemon zest or another citrus zest, lemongrass, or even lavender. The one caveat with infused syrups is to not use too much. The more you add, the sweeter the salad will be, and that’s good, but only up to a point. As you’re drizzling on the syrup, imagine that you’re dressing a green salad and use just enough to coat the fruit lightly.

Infused syrups keep for two weeks in the refrigerator. You can use extra syrup in iced tea, lemonade, smoothies, or yogurt.

Make and serve

I won’t lie to you: Fruit salads aren’t great make-ahead desserts. Ripe, fresh fruit starts to break down fairly quickly after it has been cut up, so plan on making them just before serving (although the syrups should be made ahead and chilled). If you do need to prepare them an hour or so ahead, put each fruit variety in its own bowl and keep refrigerated.