Fruit Salad Is So Much More Exciting With A Sprinkling Of This Colorful Seasoning

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Looking to spice things up this summer with a sweetly refreshing, hydrating, and all-around satisfying treat? Fruit salad with a little tajín seasoning sprinkled over is pretty tough to beat. Though fresh fruit salad has little need for improvement, adding a sprinkling of the Mexican seasoning blend, tajín (pronounced "ta-HEEN") can deliver just the jolt your tastebuds need to make those fruit flavors zing. Salty tajín works best in tandem with high-water-content fruits (like those in this mint and melon fruit salad) to help hydrate in the heat of summer.

Even if you've never used branded Tajín Clasico chile lime seasoning (often referred to as just tajín) before, you've probably seen its characteristic green, white, and red-labeled bottles (the colors of the Mexican flag) at the grocery store. The blend is a deep orangey-red hue that adds a speckled pop of color to whatever it's sprinkled on, so your fruit salad looks as good as it tastes. Tajin's mix of chile peppers, lime, and sea salt was created in 1985 by company founder and CEO, Horacio Fernández to capture the flavors of his grandmother's signature seven chile sauce recipe but in a seasoning. You can of course make it yourself using dried peppers, lime zest and sea salt, but the classic Tajín brand does a great job. The result is bright and savory with a subtle kick. While the mix of chili peppers lends some mild heat, the lime is what takes center stage, providing a burst of tangy zestiness that's sure to activate your salivary glands and have you craving more.

Fruits typically used in Mexican fruit cups or vasos de fruta (a kind of Mexican fruit cocktail) are perhaps the most ideally suited for a chopped fruit salad topped with tajín. Born of Mexican fruteros — the fruit stands of Mexico — vasos de fruta typically contain a selection of the following: Melon, pineapple, mango, papaya, and jicama (a root vegetable). To enjoy this vibrantly colorful salad, simply slice everything into bite-sized chunks and mix it together in a bowl with freshly-squeezed lime juice and a sprinkling of tajín. Other fruits that play well with tajín include oranges, nectarines, peaches, plums, apples, kiwi, and cucumber.

Once you've mastered tajín on fruit salad don't be afraid to branch out. One of the reasons for this spicy mix's increasing popularity is its versatility. Try it on anything savory from chicken, shrimp, and corn-on-the-cob to avocado toast, popcorn, and boozy garnished micheladas (a Bloody Mary and beer cocktail with a salted rim), or even sweet treats like ice cream, sorbet, and smoothies. There really are many ways to use tajín that you've probably never thought of. Experiment, but remember to choose juicy, fresh, in-season fruits. We do have a word of caution, however, which is that fruits like bananas and seeded berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries) receive mixed reviews when topped with tajín. Want to take it next level? Pair tajín with its eager partner, chamoy (a popular pickled fruit sauce from Mexico) that's often drizzled on fruit with tajín.