Frozen Fruit Salad No. 2

A frozen salad from the era when a household refrigerator with a freezing compartment was still a novelty worth writing menus around. The method is sound, but the equipment and the mayonnaise have both changed.

• "Electrical refrigerator" means the freezing compartmentThe 3 hours refers to the small freezing unit of a 1930s refrigerator, which ran warmer than a modern freezer. In a current freezer the mixture will set harder and probably faster, so check it before the full 3 hours and let it sit at room temperature 10-15 minutes before slicing.
• Drain the fruit hardThis is the hinge. Canned grapefruit and pineapple carry a great deal of syrup, and any liquid left in the bowl freezes into gritty ice that breaks the dressing. Drain everything in a sieve, then blot on towels.
• Grapefruit heartsA period canners' label, apparently for canned grapefruit sections freed of membrane. Canned or jarred grapefruit sections are the direct equivalent; fresh segments work if you cut away all pith.
• White cherriesRoyal Anne cherries, sold canned in light syrup at the time. Canned light-coloured sweet cherries or canned peaches are the closest thing now; pit and halve fresh Rainiers if you use them.
• The mayonnaiseModern jarred mayonnaise can make a distinctly tangy salad against the sweet canned fruit; if it tastes too sharp, a spoonful of sugar or a few tablespoons of the drained pineapple syrup softens it.
• Whipped creamWhip to soft peaks and fold in last, after the mayonnaise, so it does not deflate. The recipe does not say whether to sweeten it; unsweetened is the safer reading given how sweet the canned fruit is.
• Mould and servingPack into a loaf pan or ice-cube tray lined with plastic wrap, freeze, then turn out and cut in slices. Serves eight as written, traditionally on a lettuce leaf as a first course or a lunch salad rather than a dessert.