Why Tajín Is The Perfect Ingredient For Bringing Life To Your Fruit Salad

Fruit salad is a great way to make use of fresh produce when it's in season and tasting its best. However, if the fruit salads you've been whipping up seem a little lackluster, there's one perfect ingredient you may want to try: Tajín. And trust us, if you don't have a jar of the beloved spice mix in your collection yet, you should consider changing that.

So, what exactly is Tajín seasoning? It's the brand name of a blend that incorporates chili peppers, salt, and dehydrated lime juice. Rather than a one-note addition like cayenne or chipotle, Tajín uses for its spice element a blend of chiles de árbol, guajillo, and pasilla peppers, creating heat that has some depth. Invented in 1985, Tajín is now available in over 30 countries and has been on shelves in the U.S. since 1993, so it's not hard to find.

It seems simple, but the combination of spicy, salty, and citrusy works wonders. There's a reason this mix is particularly irresistible, elevating even the most exemplary of fruit salads. Sweetness helps soothe the effect that the capsaicin in spicy foods has on your taste buds. Plus, both salt and citrus are fantastic at enhancing the flavors already in a dish, so your fruit will just taste even juicier and more delicious. Salt is actually another unexpected ingredient that works beautifully in a fruit salad, but since Tajín includes salt, you don't need to worry about adding any extra.

For an incredible Tajín-enhanced fruit salad, you want to start with a stellar base that avoids the mistakes everyone makes with fruit salad, such as not including a variety of textures. In terms of the amount, it's one of those dishes where you need to let your taste buds be your guide. Most recipes call for somewhere around 1 tablespoon of the seasoning in a batch of fruit salad, though, so you don't want to toss in ½ cup of the spice. For those whose palates truly love heat, consider the habanero variation of the seasoning blend.

Now, if you worry that just shaking the dry spice onto your fruit salad will lead to uneven distribution and the seasoning clumping together, a great solution is to make a dressing. Highlight the sweet and spicy contrast and bring in Tajín's flavors by using honey, lime juice, and Tajín to craft a small amount of dressing that will enhance your fruit salad. Once mixed together, you can toss the fruit in it, and it should coat the pieces fairly evenly.

And don't worry; you won't have the jar of Tajín languishing in your pantry until you make your next fruit salad. It's equally delicious in everything from cocktails to dips to marinades, so you'll find yourself reaching for it more frequently than you may have thought.