[1] Ambrosia salad, spiced up with a bit of jalapeño (photo © Melissa’s).

[2] A basic ambrosia salad, with just mandarins, pineapple and coconut, with a bonus of mini marshmallows (photo © Ezume Images | Panther Media).

[3] This ambrosia salad uses pineapple, mandarins, maraschino cherries, green grapes, mini marshmallows, and sweetened shredded coconut. The dressing is made from Greek yogurt and whipped topping blended with lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Here’s the recipe (photo © Family Fresh Meals).

[4] Alton Brown’s ambrosia salad. An adaptation of the recipe is below (photo © Food Network).

[5] Take inspiration from this mixed citrus salad, and use mixed citrus in your ambrosia (photo © Kristen Kaethler | Wesual | Unsplash).

[6] Want to use marshmallows? Our favorite brand is Dandies (photo © Dandies).

In Greek mythology, the gods ate ambrosia and drank nectar, fragrant foods that were typically reserved for divine beings. Mortals would face death if they dared to eat either.

While no descriptions of either these foods survive (the word ambrosia means delicious or fragrant and nectar indicates a delicious or invigorating drink), scholars have long believed that both ambrosia and nectar were based on honey. (Mead, popular with the ancients, is a fermented honey drink.)

Modern ambrosia is a variation on a traditional fruit salad. Two recipes follow: our own customizable one, and another one below, from Alton Brown.
 
 
AMBROSIA HISTORY

It originated in the southern U.S. in the last quarter of the 19th century, when oranges became more available in markets across the country. The original recipes were simple layerings of grated coconut, sliced oranges, and powdered sugar, served in a glass dish.

The recipe became popular in the early part of the twentieth century, according to FoodTimeline.org. Many variations proliferated. Today, it’s a retro recipe that is too often laden with maraschino cherries, canned pineapple, and whipped topping—and it justifiably gets a bad rap.

In addition to the coconut, orange/mandarin, and pineapple, ambrosia recipes often contain miniature marshmallows and maraschino cherries.

But make it with the best ingredients, and you’ve got but a fun fruit salad substitute for the colder months, when primo fresh fruit options are fewer. (Some recipes use canned pineapple and mandarin segments. Trust us, if you have a good palate, you’ll want to use fresh fruit.)

You can serve ambrosia as a first course atop mesclun or lettuce leaves, as a side dish with ham or turkey, or as dessert.

December 12th is National Ambrosia Day.

> The year’s 80 fruit holidays.
 
 
RECIPE #1: THE NIBBLE’S CUSTOM AMBROSIA SALAD

This is a customizable recipe. You can create the classic layered dish—shredded coconut (instead of grated), sliced oranges, and pineapple on their own.

You can add a binder: mayonnaise (ideally mixed with one of the following), sour cream, vanilla yogurt, whipped cream (lightly sweetened or unsweetened). We’ve also seen recipes that use cream cheese, cottage cheese, and for a dessert version, vanilla pudding.

You can combine them to suit your palate. The Alton Brown recipe, below, dilutes sour cream with heavy cream.

So what should your ambrosia salad be? Use the classics—oranges, pineapple, coconut—with any of the following ingredients and your binder of choice.

Ingredients

 
For a devilish modern touch, add a bit of minced jalapeño.
 
Preparation

You can layer the ingredients in a glass bowl, as originally done. Or you can mix them up, like a conventional fruit salad. For the latter:

1. ADD all ingredients except the garnishes in a mixing bowl. Toss to blend and add your binder to the desired level of creaminess. Fold in until evenly distributed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. TRANSFER to a serving bowl or individual serving dishes. Garnish as desired.
 
 
RECIPE #2: AMBROSIA FRUIT SALAD

This recipe is adapted from an Alton Brown version. It is best served on the day of preparation. The sugar can cause the oranges (and other fruits) to release their juices and the dish can turn to mush.

This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s and is so easy that you can assign it to an older child to prepare. Prep time is 30 minutes, plus two hours of chilling.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the cream and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whip until stiff peaks are formed. Add the sour cream and whisk to combine.

2. ADD the marshmallows, orange, pineapple, coconut, pecans, and cherries; stir to combine.

3. TRANSFER to a glass serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
 
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*The best maraschino cherries, worthy of a connoisseur, are from Tillen Farms, all natural and made with sugar instead of corn syrup.

†You can make brandied cherries even out of season: Just use frozen cherries. Here’s the recipe.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Celebrate fall with Apple Cider Sangria. Photo courtesy Zulka.com.

Sangria is a popular party drink, and you can moderate the amount of alcohol or use none at all.

Here’s the version we’re serving at Thanksgiving, compliments of Zulka Sugar. Fall is apple cider season, so Instead of fruit juice, this recipe uses apple cider and sparkling apple cider.

Cider s available in alcoholic and non alcoholic versions. In the U.S., alcoholic cider is known as hard cider. (See details below.) Find more delicious recipes at Zulka.com.

RECIPE: SPARKLING APPLE CIDER SANGRIA

Ingredients

1. COMBINE the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Pour a little of brandy in another small bowl. Dip the glass rims in the brandy and then the cinnamon sugar. Add a few apple slices to each glass. Set aside.

2. ADD the remaining cinnamon sugar to a large pitcher. Add the apple cider and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Top with the brandy and wine and mix. Add the rest of the apples. Chill until ready to serve.

3. ADD the sparkling cider right before serving. Garnish with an apple slice and a cinnamon stick. Serve chilled. Add ice if desired.
 
WHAT IS CIDER

While in the U.S. and parts of Canada, the term “apple cider” is interchangeable with apple juice, in Europe a glass of cider is not kid stuff: It’s an alcoholic drink that many prefer to beer.

One of our favorite cider brands. Photo courtesy Crispin Cider.

The result is a drink with the carbonation and alcohol of beer and the flavor of apples. As with beer, each brand has a distinct flavor profile and alcoholic content, generally from 3% ABV (alcohol by volume) or less to 8.5% or more.

In the U.S., alcoholic cider is called hard cider, and it’s becoming more popular. Like wine, it has a relatively high concentration of antioxidants—but enjoy it for the crisp, refreshing taste!

Then we learned how easy it was to make our own (recipe below).

But these days, we buy bags of whole cooked chestnuts, peeled and ready to be popped into the mouth, tossed into recipes or microwaved to make them toasty. What you miss in the smoky flavor nuance, you gain in moistness.

Chestnuts are delicious cold or hot in various recipes or as a garnish. There is no need to add anything to them; they are full of flavor and ready-to-eat. (In fact, you can eat chestnuts raw, but they are sweeter and have a better flavor when cooked).

WAYS TO SERVE CHESTNUTS

You can eat chestnuts as you would any other nut. Versatile, they work in savory or sweet recipes.

 
SWEET CHESTNUT USES

HOW TO ROAST CHESTNUTS

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Wipe the chestnuts with a damp paper towel.

2. PLACE the chestnuts on a cutting board, flat side down. Use a small, sharp knife to cut an X on the top (rounded) side of each chestnut. This allows the steam to escape and also makes peeling the cooked chestnuts a lot easier.

3. MOVE the chestnuts to a baking pan or sheet with the X facing up. Roast for 20-30 minutes until the shells burst open at the X.

4. COOL a bit until the chestnuts are comfortable enough to touch; peel while they are still warm.

Note that chestnuts can begin to rot inside the shell, and you won’t know it until you’ve roasted and peeled them. So if you need a certain number, buy 20% more to be on the safe side.

CHESTNUT HISTORY

Chestnuts were eaten by prehistoric man, and have been cultivted since about 2000 B.C.E.

The chestnut tree, Castanea sativa, was introduced to Europe via Greece and Asia Minor. The majority of the chestnut trees currently found in America are of European stock, but Native Americans ate an American genus, Castanea dentata, long before the European tree came to America.

In 1904, a fungus on diseased Asian chestnut trees that were planted in New York spread and nearly wiped out the American chestnut population. While there are some domestic groves in California and the Pacific Northwest, today most chestnuts are imported from China, Italy, Japan and Spain.

But there’s a new entry for your consideration from Fika. Under the snowy surface of confectioners’ sugar are sweet milk chocolate-covered malt balls. The malted milk balls are handmade in Fika’s New york City facility.

At $12 for a clear gift box of 10 ounces, they’re available FikaNYC.com, along with many other treats.

For a respite, drop in at one of Fika’s 10 locations in New York City for coffee, pastry or a light repast.

There are classic toffees we like better. Our gold standard is the uber-buttery Enstrom’s, which also is made in a sugar-free version. (It has so much butter, you’re advised to store it in the fridge! It’s also certified kosher)

We’ve never seen s’mores toffee flavor before. Enhanced with mini marshmallows, mini graham cracker squares and a cover of milk chocolate, it’s something new, different and fun.

A four-ounce rustic gift box is $9.99. Get yours at CowboyToffeeCo.com.

(Note that the toffee photo on the website isn’t too attractive. We devoured our sample before it could be photographed. The toffee looks much tastier in person.)

WHAT IS TOFFEE

Toffee is a hard but chewable candy made by caramelizing sugar with water and butter. American recipes can add vanilla and other flavorings, plus milk or cream. The ingredients are boiled together at a high temperature until the mixture is golden brown and stiff.

The hot toffee is spread onto a shallow pan or countertop to thicken and cool. The slab is then broken into smaller, irregular pieces. Some toffees are poured into individual molds to create individual square or round pieces.

Here’s more about toffee, including English-style toffee and the difference between toffee, buttercrunch and caramel.