Fruit salads
Macedonia di frutta, or Italian fruit salad, is one of the most typical of summer desserts in Italy, often served with some lemon sorbet. But a macedonia can be made any time of year, with almost any combination of fruits in season. The combination of fruits, is endlessly variable, but it is pretty typical to include bananas and—especially in the Fall and Winter—apples or pears in an Italian fruit salad. In the summer, stone fruits, especially peaches, are a popular addition. Kiwi is also very popular, any time of year. (By the way, did you know that Italy is now the world’s largest producer of kiwi?)
The sugar and lemon treatment can be used, as well, with single fruits, especially all sorts of berries. It is particularly good (and popular in Italy) to treat fragoline di bosco, or wild strawberries, if you are lucky enough to find some. By the way, you will find that after you leave the salad to macerate for a while, the sugar melts and the sour taste of the lemon juice, by some magical alchemy, is replaced by fruits that taste more intensely of themselves and lovely ‘syrup’. This treatment does wonders for the rather insipid fresh fruit one finds at the supermarket these days. And it sends really good, ripe fruits from the farmers market into celestial orbit!