Common Name: Rambutan
Botanical Name: Nephelium lappaceum
Specimens From: Malaysia
Rambutan is a common fruit from South-east Asia as it is believed to be originated from around the region of Malaysia but is now cultivated in most of the tropical countries, with Thailand leading the production. The name derives from the Malay word, rambut, which means "hair" while the Chinese community call it the "red hairy" fruit. It is the most hairy fruit around and it is usually red but there is a younger brother (cultivar)which is usually smaller in size and has a yellow skin, but it is not so commonly found.
Rambutan is usually eaten out-of-hand. Just use both your thumbs to prise it open as the leathery skin is soft and easily tears apart. Pop the white, translucent flesh into your mouth or just bite it from your hand. But be careful of the single, light brown seed and don't accidentally swallow or eat it as it tastes terrible and should not be eaten.
The flesh is sweet but not as juicy nor as soft as the well-known cousin, "lychee", another red fruit in the same family. It is a nice fruit to eat but the irritating thing about rambutan is that, the skin of the seed usually sticks to the flesh and thereby end up eating the tastless skin as well. Most of the cultivars are not "freestone", only a handful is but it is hard to find!
As you can see from the first photo, the matured fruit is red and it is green when immature but some cultivars come in red skin, green hair(fruit on the right) even when it is fully riped. Do not choose those fruits with dried black hair as it indicates over-ripe and not fresh. It can still be eaten but it is hard, not so sweet and devoid of juice as it had already dried up.
Rambutans are also canned in syrup with the seeds taken off and some canned versions come with the cut pineapple stuffed inside the fruit but not sure if it ever exported to your country.
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| Rambutan Juice |
Fruit: Rambutan; Nephelium lappaceum;
H/T:
Above pictures and article from: http://fruitspecies.blogspot.com/2007/09/rambutan-red-skin.html
Now if you saw this at the grocery store, would you buy it?????
It looks more like some sort of sea urchin - definitely not a fruit!
Sea urchin? Look up Uni, a type of sushi.
ReplyDeleteHusband of faithful reader,
Terry
I did as you requested and looked up "Uni". I think I'll take a pass on them too since I don't like seafood! LOL :0)
DeleteMyself and a couple of co-workers were privileged enough to go to Malaysia a few years ago for our employer. We were introduced to rambutan there and it is indeed very tasty. Once you get past the odd appearance, the fruit is very tasty. It was far and away better than another local "delicacy" fruit called durian. The fruit is like a small bowling ball covered in spikes when hanging from trees like coconuts. It has been known to seriously injure people if they are unfortunate enough to be under one when it falls. But the more interesting thing about durian is the aroma. Put bluntly, it stinks to high heaven. The odor is so strong that bringing one near the public is forbidden in many places. No public transportation, hotels, etc. I can personally attest that the smell of the durian is much stronger than that of the exhaust from a diesel bus. The old diesels that did not have modern filters on it. Durian just plain smells strong and bad. You can purchase durian candy at specialty shops and web sites. You won't get the full effect from durian candy, but you will get some idea of this fruit's potency. Apparently if the fruit is introduced in one's childhood, you get over the smell, otherwise, it would be like putting the business end of a skunk up to your nose. I mean it smells bad! Malaysia was a wonderful country with very nice people. As a former British colony, it retained a lot of Britishisms, like high tea every day. It is also the only predominantly Islamic country with English as its official language. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteJust had to look up that durian fruit - there are even videos about it! Think I would take a pass on it, though.
DeleteGlad you tried and enjoyed the rambutan. And how lucky you were to travel to Malaysia. It must have been a fantastic trip! Thanks for stopping by and commenting - always enjoy hearing from my readers!