Tizana

Ingredients

The fruit

• 1small pineapple
• peeled, cored and finely diced
• 2apples, cored and diced
• 2oranges, segmented and chopped
• 1mango, peeled and diced
• or papaya
• 1banana, sliced
• added last
• 200 gmelon, diced
• a small bunch grapes, halved

The liquid

• 1 litreorange juice
• or pineapple juice
• 500 mllemon-lime soda
• or grenadine and water
• or a red fruit cordial
• juice of 2 limes

The sweetening

• sugar, to taste
• or none, if the fruit is ripe
• 2 tablespoonsgrenadine
• for the classic red colour

To serve

• plenty of ice
• tall cups and spoons
• or short straws
• a mint leaf, optional

Directions

1. Use ripe fruit but not overripe fruit. Mix textures deliberately for interest. Firm apple against soft mango works well. Add it at the very last moment only. Wash all fruit before you cut it. Cut fruit is a genuine food safety concern.
2. Keep it cold from the moment it is cut. Do not leave it standing in a warm room. Dice everything small and roughly even. Aim for pieces about one centimetre.
3. Peel and core the pineapple properly. Cut the core out and discard it entirely. Cut away the bitter white pith. Halve the grapes rather than leaving them whole. Quarter them lengthways for small children. Put all the cut fruit in together. Squeeze the lime juice over it immediately.
4. Toss it so all the fruit is coated. Lime juice stops apple and banana browning. Add it just before serving, not earlier. It goes flat within about half an hour.
5. Stir any sugar until fully dissolved. Dissolve it in a little warm water first. Stir it gently before you serve it. Add the sliced banana at this point. Add the soda at this point as well. Serve it in tall cups over ice. Make sure each cup gets plenty of fruit.
6. Spoon fruit in first, then ladle the liquid. Otherwise the fruit all stays in the bowl. Garnish with a mint leaf if you like. It is drunk cold on a hot day.
7. Keep them clearly separated at a mixed party. Label them if there is any chance of confusion. Make only as much as you will drink.

Technique

• Halve the grapes, or quarter them lengthways for small children. Whole grapes are a genuine choking hazard and this drink is very often given to children.
• Add the banana and the soda at the very last moment. Banana browns and turns to mush within an hour, and the soda goes flat in about half that time.
• Wash all fruit before cutting it, including fruit you will peel — the knife carries surface dirt inwards. Rough-skinned pineapples and melons matter particularly and are worth scrubbing.
• Cut fruit sits at a good temperature for bacteria. Keep the bowl cold and keep it on ice at a party rather than standing in a warm room.
• There should be fruit in every spoonful. A cup with three pieces floating in juice is not tizana, and getting fruit into each cup means spooning it in first and ladling the liquid after.
• The lime juice is not just for flavour. It slows the browning of apple and banana and brightens the whole mixture.
• There is no fixed recipe. Every household uses whatever fruit is to hand, and the version here is one version rather than the version.
• An alcoholic version with rum or aguardiente is made at adult parties. At a mixed gathering keep the two bowls clearly separated and labelled.

Substitutions

• Pineapple juice replaces orange juice, and many cooks use a mixture of the two.
• A red fruit cordial or grenadine diluted with water replaces the soda for a still version.
• Papaya, guava, watermelon, pear or strawberry all work; use whatever is ripe and available.
• Sugar can be left out entirely if the fruit is properly ripe.
• Lemon juice replaces lime directly.
• Sparkling water replaces sweet soda for a much less sugary drink.

Variations

• An alcoholic version with rum or aguardiente stirred in is standard at adult parties.
• A version made with condensed milk and no citrus, closer to a fruit cream, is made in some households.
• Some vendors add cooked tapioca pearls or chopped jelly for extra texture.
• A version served frozen to a slush is sold at some beach stalls.
• Colombian salpicón is a very close relative, made the same way with watermelon juice as the base.
• Some households add a splash of grenadine purely for the pink colour that people expect.

History

A party and street refreshment across Venezuela, often sold beside arepa and empanada stands.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tizana?

Tizana is a drink from Venezuela: chopped fruit in juice or soda, served in a cup with a spoon. A party and street refreshment across Venezuela, often sold beside arepa and empanada stands.

How long does Tizana take to make?

Tizana takes 25 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 8. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Tizana?

Yes, within limits. Pineapple juice replaces orange juice, and many cooks use a mixture of the two. A red fruit cordial or grenadine diluted with water replaces the soda for a still version. Papaya, guava, watermelon, pear or strawberry all work; use whatever is ripe and available. Sugar can be left out entirely if the fruit is properly ripe. Lemon juice replaces lime directly. Sparkling water replaces sweet soda for a much less sugary drink.

What is the most important thing to get right in Tizana?

Keep it cold from the moment it is cut. Do not leave it standing in a warm room. Dice everything small and roughly even. Aim for pieces about one centimetre.