Lychee nut fruits are irresistably odd for me, I had to buy some and shoot them as I went down through the layers.
To learn more about these odd fruits visit the Purdue University horticulture site on Litchi chinensis.
“The glossy, succulent, thick, translucent-white to grayish or pinkish fleshy aril which usually separates readily from the seed, suggests a large, luscious grape. The flavor of the flesh is subacid and distinctive.”
“The lychee is native to low elevations of the provinces of Kwangtung and Fukien in southern China, where it flourishes especially along rivers and near the seacoast. It has a long and illustrious history having been praised and pictured in Chinese literature from the earliest known record in 1059 A.D. Cultivation spread over the years through neighboring areas of southeastern Asia and offshore islands.”
22 comments for this entry ↓
1 ilva // Jun 16, 2006 at 8:40 am
Nika, I really like the pics and the little fakir touch is so fun!
2 nika // Jun 16, 2006 at 8:43 am
Ilva: LOL! I love the fakir comment, had not thought of it that way!
Glad you like it!
3 Sam // Jun 16, 2006 at 11:32 am
i think i have the same lychee fetish as you
4 nika // Jun 16, 2006 at 11:50 am
Sam: indeed - and it has to be a fetish to like these *winks* JK, I know they are common as dirt in Asia but this is the first time I have bought them (and at a huge grocery store chain too!)
5 meggie // Aug 13, 2006 at 4:22 pm
they taste pretty good, but they give me itchy ear and throat.
6 nika // Aug 13, 2006 at 6:20 pm
meggie: wow, thats wild! maybe your allergic?
7 Shelly // Jul 23, 2007 at 11:42 am
I just bought some for the first time. I think mine might have been over ripe? They were brown, not red! And the fruit was kind of pinkish. I thought it tasted like a combination of a portabello mushroom and a cantaloupe.
8 Nika // Jul 23, 2007 at 11:45 am
Yeah, I have seen the brown ones in the store. I have only ever bought them red. I am not sure how I feel about mushroom crossed with cantaloupe! I remember mostly a mild melon type flavor.
9 Shelly // Jul 23, 2007 at 11:50 am
Really? I didn’t realize you could get them red! Do you wait until you see them red? Maybe the brown ones aren’t ripe enough? They look good in the picture you have! Mine weren’t a white fruit either. A melon flavor sounds better tasting too. I’ve had lychee yogurt and thought it was really good. I guess I learned something about buying exotic fruits at the local market!
10 Nika // Jul 23, 2007 at 11:58 am
I found this at the Wiki:
“The red rind turns dark brown when the fruit is refrigerated, but the taste is not affected.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee
so its just a side effect .. tho if the flesh on your fruits were different .. maybe they were old. Perhaps a red fruit tells you they were better treated?
11 Shelly // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Maybe they were stale
And fyi, I found your website by doing a google search for lychee fruit.
12 Nika // Jul 23, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Yeah, I get tons of google hits for lychees.. who knew the world craved lychee so much!
13 Dina // Aug 15, 2007 at 12:40 pm
We used to buy these from a vendor along the road in Panama. Forgot all about these yummy things! I remember it tasting mildly grap-ey. Yum!
14 Nika // Aug 15, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Dina: yeah, grapey could describe them too.. its been a while since I have tasted them!
15 Carmen // Dec 4, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I came across this fruit this year but it is not the same picture above, actually it is the same but mine have what I call hair on the outside, can someone tell me is it the same fruit.
16 Nika // Dec 4, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Carmen: That might be a rambutan - see this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan
17 alex // Dec 16, 2007 at 7:27 pm
Hey does anyone know if they sell these in canada??
18 Nika // Dec 18, 2007 at 11:51 am
Alas, not living there, I cant say, sorry!
19 alex // Dec 20, 2007 at 9:24 pm
haha thanks but i actually found some:)
20 Nika // Dec 23, 2007 at 9:59 am
Alex: kewl!
21 Christin // Jan 27, 2008 at 1:16 am
theres a delicious japanese candy.its this white rabbit candy(not a rabbit candy) and its lychee flavored. its the best and u can eat the wrapper
22 genevieve // May 9, 2008 at 12:46 am
what kind of store can you get this delicious japanese white rabbit candy? is it common?
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