Fruit – Lychee

The fruit in Malaysia is interesting, and though a lot of it can be obtained in the USA, it’s usually not as good as it should be or costs quite a bit.  This is the first in probably a good number of posts describing some of the fruits (and possibly vegetables) we’ve tried.

A number of fruits here are relatives of or most easily compared to lychee, so it seems prudent to start with a description of lychee fruits.

Lychee fruits have a bumpy exterior skin which is removed to get to the tender white flesh.  Inside the white flesh is a single large seed (not generally eaten).  The lychee pulp is soft and wet with just a bit of springiness, quite similar to a medium-firm peeled grape.  It smells flowery, and the taste is kind of like a flowery sweet grape.  You can get these fresh (the best way) or canned (the canning process removes quite a bit of the smell and flavor but they’re still pretty good), and they’re served in many desserts and drinks.

There’s a wikipedia article if you want more information on lychee at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee