Frog’s Eye Salad is a unique fruit and pasta salad with acini de pepe pasta that resembles frog eyes. It also includes marshmallows, pineapple, tangerines, and whipped cream dressing. Recipes vary, but reducing pasta cooking time is key.
Frog’s Eye Salad is a whimsical name for an unusual type of fruit and pasta salad. In general, fruit and pasta don’t mix well, but the frog’s eye salad is a notable exception. The name comes from the type of pasta, a small granular pasta called acini de pepe, which is used in the recipe. This paste, when cooked, forms spherical granules about 0.07 to 0.12 inches (2 to 3 mm) in diameter, which some cooks, in a moment of perhaps slightly perverse humor, thought resembled frog eyes. Fruit, whipped cream, and marshmallows are the other traditional components of a frog’s eye salad.
While just one of many ingredients in a traditional frog’s eye salad, the pasta is very important. Belonging to a class of pasta called pastini, or tiny pastas, acini de pepe, which comes from the Italian word for peppercorns, is really the only suitable choice, as it is the pasta and its shape that give the name to the plate. Many frog-eye salad recipes call for the pasta to be cooked according to package directions, but this time should actually be reduced by about a minute. If the pasta is to be dipped in liquid before the final salad assembly, however, the cooking time should be reduced by about another minute. Reducing the cooking time will prevent the pasta from becoming soggy.
The body of the salad, in addition to the pasta, is generally made up of small marshmallows and two types of fruit, pineapple and tangerines. While fresh forms of these fruits can be used, most recipes call for canned versions, and some use the liquid from one or both types of canned fruit. Occasionally, the frog’s eye salad will contain shredded coconut and may be topped with maraschino cherries as well.
The dressing for a frog’s eye salad varies from recipe to recipe, but generally always contains frozen whipped dressings. Real whipped cream is generally not suitable for this dish as it tends to break down quickly and become runny. Some recipes also call for pudding mix, which adds body to the salad and helps thicken the dressing. Most recipes also call for sugar to be added at some point, as the salad is meant to be sweet and individual ingredients may not have enough sugars of their own.
The recipes for frog’s eye salad are almost as numerous as the cooks who prepare it. Everyone has their favorite recipe and while they all have some things in common, variations abound. A simple Internet search can reveal dozens of frog-eye salad recipes for your scrutiny and experimentation.
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