[1] (photo © Better Homes & Gardens).

[2] You can make curled vegetables look like a bouquet (photo © Canard Inc.).

[3] Here, a beet and goat cheese salad is graced with curled beets (photo © Triomphe | NYC [now closed]).

[4] If fiddlehead ferns are in season, definitely add some (photo Katharine Pollak | © The Nibble).

An easy way to turn a raw vegetable salad into edible art is to thinly shave/cut the vegetables with a vegetable peeler or mandoline, and soak them in ice water for about 20 minutes.

This will not only make the ribbons curl, but they’ll be crunchier, too.

And, some might say, they have more eye appeal—much more than a spiralized raw vegetable salad.

Are you game to try?
 
 
CHOOSE VEGETABLES THAT ARE EASY TO SHAVE

Choose vegetables that shave well.

We’ve used asparagus, beets, broccoli stalks (a great use for them!), burdock root, carrots, celery, celery root (celeriac), daikon and other large radishes, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, kohlrabi, parsnip, scallions* and sweet potato†.

Shave them lengthwise, then place the pieces into a bowl of ice water. Keep the shaved vegetables in ice water until ready to serve.

You can serve the curled vegetables on a bed of greens, or by themselves.
 
 
RECIPE: CURLED VEGETABLE SALAD

We adapted this salad from one in Better Homes and Gardens.

Their recipe used cucumbers and radishes (photo #1). However, pick as many veggies to curl as you like, balancing beige-white vegetables with colored ones.

You can also add the jalapeno or not; and optionally, add

 
We’ve created a salad of greens and herbs. Use your favorite. We chose a baby lettuces mix and added baby arugula, basil, chives and mint. You can use crunchy romaine or any salad blend.

Ingredients

 
For The Dressing

 
Preparation

1. PEEL the vegetables as appropriate (e.g., carrots and cucumbers yes, asparagus and radishes no). Using a mandoline or a sturdy vegetable peeler, and cut them lengthwise into thin, ribbon-like strips. Aim for 3-inch lengths. You can elect to make them longer: The longer the strip, the less tight the curl. Try some test batches, e.g. two or three strips of each vegetable, to see what you prefer.

2. PLACE the strips in ice-water bath, and let stand until curly, about 20 minutes. You can keep them in the ice water until ready to serve. Then, drain and transfer to a paper towel and blot dry.

3. PREPARE the greens and herbs salad. Toss with the dressing (use as little dressing as needed to moisten) and add the cheese. Place in a bowl or on a plate.

4. TOP with the curled vegetables. Serve with a pitcher of extra dressing to pass.

*Rather than shave the scallions, we trimmed the ends, removed the bulb for other use, and pulled off layer by layer.

*Sweet potatoes can safely be eaten raw, although certain types of yams—and all white potatoes—are only safe to eat when cooked. That’s because raw potatoes contain a toxic compound called solanine.
 
  

Quick: What’s the first thing you think of when someone mentions Key limes? Key lime pie, most likely.

Smaller, rounder, less acidic more fragrant than their more traditional relative and with a thin, leathery skin, the Persian/Tahitian lime, the Key Lime is used in many tropical cuisines throughout the world.

It’s also known as the Mexican or West Indian lime—although it originated in the Indo-Malayan region of southern Asia.

Key lime juice can be used in place of regular lime juice in anything, from cocktails to salad dressings (including fruit salad, where just a squeeze will suffice), on chicken and fish/seafood, in marinades, sauces and soups.

It’s Key lime season: June through August (although National Key Lime Pie Day is September 26th and International Lime Day is March 10th). So check out the recipes below, along with these articles on Key limes.

Key limes didn’t originate in the Florida Keys, but they were brought there by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the early part of the 16th century;.

> The history of Key limes.

> The history of Key Lime Pie.

> What are Key limes?

> The different types of limes.

> How to store lemons, limes and other citrus fruits.
 
 
KEY LIME RECIPES
 
Savory Recipes
A squeeze of juice will enhance the flavor of many dishes including:

 
Check out:

 
Sweet Recipes

From fruit salads to fudge and lemon curd, we love Key lime juice in:

 
Plus many more dessert recipes: cookies, cupcakes, frozen yogurt, ice cream and truffles.

Drinks

Use Key limes in any lime-accented cocktail: Caipirinha, Daiquiri, Dark and Stormy, Gimlet, Lime Rickey, Margarita, Mojito, Moscow Mule, Pisco Sour.

Squeeze it into sparkling water or a soft drink.

Don’t forget iced tea (especially herbal iced tea).

And certainly, don’t forget limeade:

[1] Just-picked key limes and their leaves (photo © Lena Kulybaba | Unsplash).

[2] Persian/Tahitian limes and the smaller, rounder Key limes. These Key limes have a yellowish peel because they ripened on the tree longer (photo Evan Dempsey | © The Nibble).

[3] Key Lime Pie (photo © Morton’s The Steakhouse).

[4] Key Lime Bars—better than lemon bars! (photo © My Baking Addiction).

[1] Papaya shave ice. The recipe is below (photos #1 and #3 © Melissa’s Produce).

[2] Here’s a second recipe for papaya shave ice, from Williams Sonoma (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] The strawberry papaya is the sweetest of the papaya varieties.

[4] Key limes are smaller and less acidic (sweeter) than the Persian a.k.a. Tahitian variety of supermarket limes. Check out the different types of limes (photo © The Nibble).

[5] At a shave ice shop, you’re likely to order multiple flavors and toppings (photo © Tao Group).

[6] Snow cones. See the difference between snow cones shave ice at right (photo © McCormick).

[7] Italian ice has a smooth texture, similar to sorbet (photo © Rita’s Italian Ice).

Before the end of National Papaya Month (June), we wanted to share a recipe that may motivate you to buy one: Papaya Shave Ice. It’s made in a blender with ice cubes.

In addition to the shave ice, there are more papaya recipes below.
 
 
WHAT IS SHAVE ICE OR SHAVED ICE?

Snow cones made from snow and shaved ice are the oldest form of ice cream—if you substitute a bowl or cup for the cylindrical cone, which came much later.

The original “ice cream,” made in China some 4,000 years ago, consisted of flavoring snow with syrup (the history of ice cream).

Records indicate that a shaved ice dessert called kakigori was served in 11th-century Japan. It was made from ice harvested in winter and stored in ice houses: a luxury available only to the nobility and the wealthy.

Fast forward to the 19th century: With the ice-making technology of the Industrial Revolution, kakigori was finally affordable to the general public in Japan.

The first kakigori shop was opened in 1872. The ice was flavored with fruit syrup and optionally topped with adzuki beans and sweetened condensed milk.

The concept spread around the world: ice shaved from large blocks into a paper cone or cup, topped with syrup, became street-food fare. In the U.S., it took the shape of a snow cone.

Modern versions of Japanese shaved ice became very popular in the 50th state, and Hawaiian shave ice evolved to offer dozens of flavors (including some neon colors) and toppings galore.

The toppings went way beyond adzuki beans and sweetened condensed milk, to:

Chocolate chips, coconut flakes (plain and toasted), coconut milk, corn, dried cereal, evaporated milk, fruits, gelatin, gummy bears, Kool-Aid powder, marshmallow cream, matcha powder, mini rice cakes, mochi balls, Nutella, nuts, and seeds, Oreos, peanut butter, pickles, sprinkles, tapioca pearls.

Oh…and some whipped cream, if you’d like it [source and source].

Not enough for you? In Hawaii, a scoop of ice cream is often placed at the bottom of the bowl.

As to why Hawaiians call it shave ice instead of shaved ice:

The recipe was brought by Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. They shaved flakes off large blocks of ice, then topped them with sugar or fruit juice. In their Pidgin vernacular, the icy treat became known as shave ice, not shaved ice [source].
 
 
RECIPE: PAPAYA SHAVE ICE

Thanks to Melissa’s Chef Tom Fraker for this recipe. Chef Tom used the strawberry papaya variety, so-called because of its salmon-red to pink flesh. The strawberry papaya is considered to be the sweetest and most flavorful of the papaya varieties. But if you can’t find it, substitute any other papaya.

You can order strawberry papayas directly from Melissa’s.

Papayas are ripe when they are soft, like a ripe peach.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the simple syrup. Take equal parts of granulated sugar and water (e.g., 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water) and place them in a saucepan. Bring just to a boil, remove from the heat and let cool. You can use the remainder to sweeten cold (or hot) drinks. It dissolves without any effort.

2. MAKE the ice balls. Place enough ice in a blender to create your desired amount of shave ice balls. Blend the ice cubes until they form light and airy shavings. With your hands, form into as many shave ice balls as you would like. Place them in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

3. MAKE the topping. In a blender, add the papaya, lime zest, and juice. Blend until smooth and then strain the mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh sieve. Stir in the simple syrup. This makes about 1-1/4 cup shave ice syrup.

4. ASSEMBLE: Place the shave ice balls in your desired vessels, drizzle with the syrup and serve. You can use bowls, rocks glasses, wine glasses, Margarita glasses, Martini glasses—whatever you have.
 
 
SHAVE ICE, ITALIAN ICE, SNOW CONES: THE DIFFERENCE

What’s the difference between snow cones (photo #6) and shave ice?

 

MORE PAPAYA RECIPES

Note that you can easily substitute papaya for mango in most recipes.

The easiest red, white and blue desserts with which to celebrate the July 4th weekend are these two, from prominent New York City restaurants.
 
 
RECIPE #1: RED, WHITE & BLUE ICE CREAM

The first recipe from Il Buco, is as easy as it gets:

Ingredients

 
It’s effortless: You don’t have to cut fruit (e.g. for a red, white and blue fruit salad) or bake anything.

If you want to make it fancier:

 
 
RECIPE #2: RED, WHITE & BLUE SORBET

This recipe from Per Se pays homage to stone stacking, an ancient ritual used as a marker of different types. In archaeology, they are called cairns.

This sorbet cairn requires only that you scoop and stack the sorbet.

Fine pastry chefs have moved away from round scoops to oval ones, thanks to gadgets like this oval scoop (note: It comes in several sizes).

Per Se used a garnish of edible gold foil and a blueberry. You can hold the foil.

You can also scatter fresh fruit—blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, quartered strawberries—at the base of the cairn. Banana slices add the “white” to red, white and blue.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. SCOOP the ovals in advance and freeze individually in plastic wrap, or on a cookie tray.

2. ASSEMBLE. We think the order should be the reverse of the photo: first strawberry, then lemon, then blueberry on the bottom. Garnish with a blueberry.
 

[1] Easy, peasy July 4th ice cream dessert (photo © Il Buco | NYC).

[2] Scoop and stack ovals of ice cream for this sorbet dessert (photo © Per Se | New York).

[3] Red and blue berries with banana stars (photo © Wisconsin Cheese).

[1] Whether on the rocks or in cocktails, enjoy non-alcoholic Three Spirit elixirs as you would conventional spirits (photos #1, #2 and #3 © Three Spirit).

[2] The recipe for this non-alcoholic Espresso Martini is below.

[3] Currently there are three varieties of Three Spirit, with very different flavor profiles.

[4] The Social Swizzle from British mixologist Dan Whiteside. Here’s the recipe (photo © Dan Whiteside).

What if you want a cocktail, but can’t (or shouldn’t) drink? A group of plant scientists and bartenders have developed Three Spirit elixirs just for you. It’s our Top Pick Of The Week.

Sober evenings are more fun with this new line. It’s imported from the U.K., where it is now served at such esteemed watering holes as The Connaught Bar.

Mixologists are thrilled to have such great bases on which to build non-alcoholic cocktails. From on the rocks to smoked cocktails to fruity drinks, Three Spirit provides the base to build the cocktails you crave.

Recipes on the website include Three Spirit’s versions of the classics—Daiquiri, Cosmopolitan, Highball, Hot Toddy, Mulled Cider, Old Fashioned, Spritz—to new creations.

Three Spirit appeared at the Grammys, the Oscars, and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, where it won a double gold medal.

The line actually sold out in its U.S. debut.

Now, the three varieties are back in stock. Each has a complex flavor profile, but in brief:
 
 
THREE SPIRITS VARIETIES

 
The drinks stimulate the palate, and actually make you feel happy.

Do they really have any impact on the limbic system (the body’s system that controls feelings)?

Ingredients like lion’s mane fungus have nootropic qualities, which can help to boost mental performance and lift moods by creating new neurons in the brain. (Unlike the wonderful Mayim Bialik, we are not neuroscientists.)

Three Spirit elixirs are:

 
Note that unlike distilled spirits, Three Spirit elixirs are not clear. They are plant blends that are opaque like juice, reflecting the fruits and other plants they’re made from.

> Discover more and shop at ThreeSpiritDrinks.com.
 
 
RECIPE: NON-ALCOHOLIC ESPRESSO MARTINI

It’s the cocktail in photo #2.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice.

2. SHAKE hard until the shaker is ice cold, and strain into a Martini glass.

2. GARNISH and serve.