The lychee, more commonly known as litchi, features a tough red leathery skin protected by soft white flesh encasing an almond-sized brown seed. To enjoy its juicy sweetness, simply peel back or pop out its tough sheath like you would cherry.
Ripe lychee boasts a sweet perfume-like flavor and makes an exquisite snack when enjoyed alone or as part of fruit salad. Boiling lychees to produce simple syrup can also create tasty drinks and desserts.
Peeling the skin
Lychees are exotic tropical fruits known for their sweet translucent white flesh and dark brown seed, native to Southern China and grown worldwide in hot, tropical climates. A staple in Asian cuisine, they can be found fresh or canned with syrup at markets or big-box grocery stores and have an irresistibly sweet pear or grape flavor with floral tropical notes.
Lychee is packed with Vitamin C, an important antioxidant for immune and skin health. In addition, its rich source of fiber and potassium makes it a delicious way to add light floral sweetness into a fruit salad mix or as an ideal refreshment after more tart or intensely sweet fruits are served up in one go.
Lychees can be enjoyed from late spring through midsummer for maximum flavor and nutrition, choosing those which yield to slight pressure when selecting fruits that have reached full maturity.
To eat a lychee, start by peeling away its skin with either your fingers or knife. If peeling proves challenging, soaking the fruit for a few minutes in warm water should make it more manageable.
When purchasing a lychee, look for vibrant pink or red-pink color with no transparent areas or yellow-brown spots, as this may indicate it hasn’t reached maturity and should be passed up. If it resists pressure upon pressing down it may still not be ready and should be avoided.
While some might recommend using a knife to remove the skin of a lychee, others find their fingertips much simpler. To peel a lychee using this method, simply hold it between thumb and forefinger and pinch any bumpy outer skin to loosen it; after several pulls the skin should come off easily.
If the lychee proves difficult to peel, use a knife to score one side before working it open with its tip of blade. This will expose its edible meat inside and allow you to easily extract its seed – the finished lychee can then be enjoyed either alone or mixed into fruit salad.
Removing the pit
As is well-known, fresh fruit offers numerous health advantages and should be eaten on a daily basis. Unlike canned fruit, fresh fruit provides natural sources of essential vitamins and minerals such as B2, C, potassium, copper as well as plant-based antioxidants which may help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Lychees are no exception: they’re packed with Vitamin B2, C, potassium and copper – as well as being an excellent source of plant-based antioxidants to reduce heart disease risk and cancer risks.
At first glance, lychees may appear to be dinosaur golf balls; however, these delicious tropical fruits are extremely popular throughout Asia. These small, round fruits grow in groups with bumpy reddish (the most common variety) skin that needs peeling away to reveal the succulent white flesh inside.
Prior to eating your lychee, it’s essential that it’s at its optimal state. To check this, look at the skin color and give a gentle shake – brown skin indicates overripeness which won’t yield as juicy results; fragrant fruit should also feel firm upon touch and be fragrant with aroma.
Once washed, you can begin peeling a lychee carefully so as not to damage its delicate flesh. As its outer skin is very thin, removing it using your fingers or a peeler should be simple.
Once you’ve peeled off the skin, it’s time to take steps towards extracting the pit. While some may prefer eating their fruit whole with its pit still present, removing it is necessary as eating whole could potentially expose you to toxic materials that could prove hazardous for health. You can either use a sharp knife or your fingernail.
Eat your lychees with their pit intact for an extra sweet snack; however, when cooking with them it’s best to remove the pit first in order to prevent your fruit from turning mushy or losing shape and also save any potential money by not discarding its use afterward. This way you won’t waste fruit and money by throwing it away!
Opening the fruit
Lychees are sweet, juicy fruits that offer an exotic taste – great for snacking or adding to a fruit salad! Lychees make a wonderful way to introduce exotic fruits to friends as well as party food thanks to their unusual appeal. To prepare them, pierce their bumpy outer “alligator skin” using your thumbnail and peel back, much like peeling an orange. When peeling back the skin you should see white flesh beneath; any that seems hard should probably be discarded as they could already have become overripe or gone bad if necessary.
Lychees have translucent flesh that is sweetly fragrant with perfume-like fragrance, featuring mild, fresh flavors reminiscent of strawberry, watermelons and pear with notes of strawberry watermelons and pear. Lychees contain high levels of vitamin C. Lychees can come in various shapes and colors but all possess the same tough sheath encasing soft flesh containing brown seeds within. Some varieties can even have square or oblong shapes for additional crunchiness!
Once the bumpy skin has been carefully peeled off, you can enjoy your exotic lychee just like any other citrus fruit. Its juicy sweetness will surely impress guests, while its exotic appearance will dazzle everyone who sees it! Lychees make great additions to fruit salads or desserts and can even be reduced down further to produce sweet syrup or beverages for making delicious beverages or sweet syrups.
Store lychees in your fridge wrapped in a paper towel or perforated plastic bag to maintain freshness for up to one week, though their texture may change and begin to turn grey as they ripen.
When choosing lychees, look out for ones with transparent or mottled flesh as this could indicate they have fermented or are decayed. Also be wary of any sticky exterior or wet sticky interior as these could indicate the fruit has been stored too long in refrigeration and is no longer fresh as intended. Lastly, ensure that no part of its surface has been bruised or swollen prior to purchasing; an ideal ripe lychee should feel firm when touched.
Cooking with lychees
Lychees are an exquisite tropical fruit that can be enjoyed raw or cooked, providing a delectable snack or added into drinks, smoothies and fruit salads. Their delicate fragrance features notes of strawberry, pear and watermeon for an aromatic experience. Lychees provide essential vitamin C, potassium and copper while being high in antioxidants!
Lychees have long been cultivated in China but are now widely distributed around the globe. In the US, fresh or canned lychees can usually be found at Chinese markets or supermarkets that specialize in Asian food; their season runs from May through August. Furthermore, many Asian restaurants feature them regularly as part of soups or stir fries dishes.
Before enjoying a lychee, its rough dark pink skin must first be removed using either fingernails or a knife, after piercing its outer casing with fingernails or knife point. After opening up the fruit there will be an unappetizing brown seed in its center that must be discarded as this is its pit or seed and cannot be consumed.
Sometimes lychees can be tricky to peel. In these instances, try soaking them for several minutes in water to soften their skin before peeling away and enjoying their juicy and sweet flesh inside – it makes an excellent addition to cocktails or other desserts!
If you are curious to try cooking with lychees, there are various recipes to try. Lychees can be added to chicken salads and stir fries, frozen for storage over one year in your freezer, and even eaten fresh!
Lychees are exotic fruits that resemble prehistoric golf balls with bumpy reddish skin. Though difficult to prepare, lychees are definitely worth your efforts as once past their tough exterior you will discover a taste similar to grape but without its peel. Plus they provide many essential vitamins and minerals such as riboflavin, potassium, and copper!
