Beautiful Christmas Fruit Salad

A festive red and green fruit salad; easy to make and delightful to the senses. Not too sweet, a variety of textures, and plenty of room for personal variation. The time to make may look a bit high, but that's based on someone like me with no knife skills and little experience with pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 10-20
• Yields: 4 quarts

Ingredients

• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 2  cups cold water
• 1  Granny Smith apples
• 6  ounces raspberries
• 1  lb green grape
• 3  kiwi fruits
• 1⁄2 honeydew melon
• 1  pomegranate
• 1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries, drained. Do not rinse

Directions

1. Wash the fruit well.
2. Mix the salt and water in a medium sized bowl. Stir until all the salt is dissolved.
3. Dice the apple into bite-size chunks. Make sure each piece has a bit of green peel on it.
4. Add the apple pieces to the salt water. Occasionally stir the apples to ensure they are uniformly soaked.
5. Place the raspberries, grapes, and drained cherries in a large, 4 quart serving bowl. Gently mix the fruit together without bruising the cherries and raspberries.
6. Skin the kiwis and dice into bite sized chunks. Add them to the serving bowl. Gently mix the fruits again.
7. Cut the honeydew flesh into chunks or use a melon baller. Add the honeydew to the serving bowl, and gently mix.
8. Drain the salt water off the apples. I did not rinse them - I think the tiny bit of salt adds a little to the flavor of the salad. Gently mix into the serving bowl.
9. Separate pomegranate seeds from the white pith. Here are three easy ways to do it: http://pomegranates.org/index.php?c=27.
10. Add the pomegranate seeds to the serving bowl, and mix one final time. Be very careful not to over mix - the juices from the red fruits will stain the apples and melon.
11. Garnish if you'd like with fresh mint,a star cut from fresh pineapple, or a cross section of star fruit. Serve immediately or chill - this salad will hold up in the fridge for many hours. Serve with fresh cream, whipped topping, or plain. It's all good!
12. Takes about an hour to make depending on your knife skills. Makes about 4 quarts.