Encouraged by our last Will It Grill? endeavor (gooey, crispy, flavor-packed grilled nachos) we turned to the next item on our long to-grill list: fruit salad. The agenda was the same—to see if a delicious dish would taste even better on the grill. The result was drastically different.
To start, we raided the produce section of our local supermarkets and collected the following fruits: pomegranates, peaches, bananas, strawberries, pears, guava, horned melon, cantaloupe, mangos, pepinos, grapes, pineapple, apples, apricots, kiwis, lemons, and plums. Indeed, it looked like Carmen Miranda’s hat had spilled into the grill.
What began as a banquet of peak-season produce soon dwindled after fruit met flame. Strawberries charred quickly and tasted acrid. Slices of horned melon oozed their green pulp between the grill grates. Grapes literally exploded, spewing their guts toward unsuspecting bystanders and grillers alike.
Beyond the disarray and the apparent danger, unfortunately, we found that few fruits actually grilled well. Guava was inedible. Cantaloupe soured. Apples adopted grill marks, but didn't sweeten. The grapes that remained undetonated tasted like, well, scalding hot grapes. The only fruits of the 17 we grilled that worked were bananas, peaches, and, to a lesser extent, pears, mangoes, apricots and pomegrantes.
Why? We reached out to several fruit scientists at various universities, as well as leading authors on the subject of food science, and not one could explain why some fruits taste great grilled and others flat out suck. Perhaps it has to do with the fruit sugars within certain varieties? The density of the fruit? The water content? Or maybe you have a theory of your own?
The verdict: Only some fruits are good to go for the grill.
When you do grill fruit, here are a few pointers that we found…
Slice smart
Cut your fruit too thick and the middle will still be cold even if the outside has deep grill marks. We recommend slicing fruit to between ½ inch to 1 inch for best results.
Keep it clean and oiled
If you're grilling on a grody surface, fruit will stick to the grates making them difficult to flip. We noticed this especially when grilling bananas. Slices cooked better on well-oiled, well-cleaned grill grates and even benefited from a light coating of fat (butter, canola, vegetable oil will do), before placing them on the grill.
Avoid hot spots
When you want to sear a steak, chop, or burger on the grill, you feel for the hottest flames. The greater the heat, the faster that sought-after caramelized crust develops without overcooking the interior. High heat torches fruit too fast. Medium heat sweetens the food without charring the hell out of it.
Time it right
Fruits, like meats, don’t all cook at the same pace. Pineapples and bananas can take longer to grill than watermelon or cantaloupe. Monitor your fruit closely. When in doubt, taste a sample off the grill.
—By Michael Easter and Paul Kita
Have ideas for future Will It Grill? posts? Send them to guygourmet@rodale.com.
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