When is National Fruit Cocktail Day?
Saturday May 13thNational Fruit Cocktail Day on May 13th may be a way to raise the calorie count if you've been enjoying the food holidays regularly. Many of us have childhood memories of a fruit cocktail that was served with a meal.
Fruit cocktail is made from a blend of fruit or syrup. We can also make it fresh with berries and other fruits while we buy it in cans and individual serving cups. Fruit cocktail is a healthy fruit choice in classrooms and buffets, as well.
Fruit cocktail contains no alcohol, despite the fact that the word cocktail appears in the name. The term itself refers to a mixture, and can be food or spirits. For example, the secondary definition of a cocktail is "An appetizer made by combining pieces of food, such as fruit or seafood." (See example below.
The USDA has ruled that canned fruit cocktail must have certain amounts of pears, grapes, cherries, peaches, and pineapples.
Both William Vere Cruess of the University of California, Berkeley, and Herbert Gray of the Barron-Gray Packing Company, San Jose, California, have been credited with fruit cocktail development.
