Another old school family recipe - 1970s Carrot and pineapple salad

Recipes and family dishes are such a great reminder of family times and dear ones long departed. This is another of our old family recipes. Gran would always make this whenever we had a family get together. As children we looked forward to eating this with our ham on Christmas day because it always tasted a little like having your pudding at the same time as the main course. It took me a few years to realise this dish is a product of the 70s obsession with gelatinisation. These days we make it in Gran's honour and sit round reminiscing about our childhood memories as cousins together on the farm.

Having such a great time catching up with everyone, I forgot to photograph this salad on the plate. We ate it for Christmas supper with ham, cold turkey, new potatoes, new seasons carrots and a green salad.

Pineapple and Carrot Salad

1 x 420g can of crushed pineapple
2 cups orange juice
1 cut prepared and cut orange flesh
1 cup grated carrot
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 heaped dessert spoons powdered gelatine

Soften the gelatine in 1/2 cup cold water and set aside.
Add the sugar and the salt to the orange juice and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar. Heat the gelatine in the microwave in short bursts until it has dissolved. Stir the gelatine into the orange juice mixture and set aside to cool. 
Prepare the oranges by cutting off the top and bottom down to the flesh, then cutting down the sides of the orange a strip at a time to remove all the pith and skin. Now cut the orange flesh segments out one at a time. Cut each segment into two. Wash, peel and grate the carrots and drain the pineapple. The pineapple juice is not required for this recipe.

Stir the orange segments, carrot and pineapple into the cooled orange jelly. Pour the mixture into a suitable glass or crystal serving bowl and refrigerate for a couple of hours at least to set before serving with your choice of summer cold meats and salads.

This dish will always be the taste of our summer family childhood.