Ambrosia Salad

We know this as Five Cup Salad. My mother’s Ambrosia was simply oranges, fresh coconut and, right before serving, bananas. Memories!

Can I use Amarena cherries in ambrosia?

I grew up on a version of this in the 70’s as one of my aunts made it every Thanksgiving AND Christmas. I think they made it using sour cream and no whipped cream, so I’m looking forward to making it for Christmas Day. I have some Amarena cherries on hand and am thinking they would make a nice alternative to Maraschino cherries.

I add 1/2 cup marshmallows to 1/2 cup sour cream the day before or the morning of. The marshmallows disintegrate into the sour cream, making it sweet. No need for whipped cream, just add the rest of the sour cream and marshmallows.

For the whipped cream, I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla. I substituted whole milk vanilla bean yogurt for the sour cream and Amaretto cherries (from Williams Sonoma) for the maraschino cherries.

This recipe is totally more about the memories. Everyone here is talking about ‘Mom’ or ‘Grandma’. This recipe evokes the warmest memories of family and childhood. So it’s not the most sophisticated recipe….I can hear the love in these reviews….nothing better

My mother, who was Barbados, made the best Ambrosia. Everyone loved it! However, I always thought that it was Southern.

My mother always made the 5 cup salad mentioned below. It is plenty sweet with just the sour cream because the shredded coconut is sweetened and the fruit is all sweet. You can also add a bit of the liquid from the cherries and make it pink. That’s what they do at Bubba’s on Hillcrest in Dallas.

This is mystifying to me. I just can’t do it. But I love reading through the reminiscences.

My Mom made this from scratch with homemade whipped cream when I was a kid in the '70s. She called it "Heavenly Hash". A rare treat for special occasions. Did not put any coconut or nuts in, just her amazing homemade whipped cream and the fruits, including maraschino cherries. I think she included sliced fresh bananas and of course the mini marshmallows. It's a sublime, fun and festive dessert.

My mother made ambrosia for Christmas. She’s from Mississippi, and her version is layers of oranges, pineapple and freshly grated coconut with maraschino cherries on top. She served it in a glass bowl so you could see all the layers. Delicious and light. Definitely food of the gods.

My mom made this in Ontario in the 70s with dream whip from a mix and sometimes cubes of jello. We called it Heavenly Hash and got it as a special treat when we were sick.

My North Carolina Grandma's version (aptly named "white salad" in our family) is made with small curd cottage cheese, cream cheese, mandarin oranges, small pineapple chunks, Dream Whip (key ingredient) and evaporated milk used to "melt" the cream cheese. We have to make (2) 9x13 casserole dishes of it b/c it goes so quickly. Given the other notes, I may have to add some nuts (lightly dusted with toasted almonds might be yummy).

I have had good results using containers of low fat pineapple and orange yogurt to bind it all together.

My grandmother made this as 5 cup salad as well. Loved it. She worked at the US Senate & had a 1971 cookbook from The Congressional Club, recipes from wives of Senators, Representatives, & Ambassadors, with a version of this called "Maraschino Delight" by Mrs. William L. Hungate, wife of the US Rep from Missouri, also mom of David Hungate, bassist of Toto, that had pineapple, cherries, marshmallows, whipped topping, cream cheese, & pecans. It adds a fun flavor backstory to Toto's music for me;)