After being "confined" to tropical regions for a long time, the lychee has become a fruit exported all over the world. Most canned lychees can be consumed directly from barter. However, the fresh fruit tastes much better and takes only seconds to prepare.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Eat a Fresh Lychee
Step 1. Choose a ripe fruit
Take a firm one that yields slightly when you squeeze it, but doesn't crack or release the juices. If the skin is relatively smooth and has only a few small bumps, this is a good sign. Hard, unripe lychees are always edible, but they don't have an intense flavor. Conversely, a soft fruit that releases juices is either overripe, perhaps even fermented (you can always eat it, but the flavor is strong and different) or rotten (in which case it's disgusting). If the peel is damp or cracked, the lychee is likely to be thrown away.
The color of the skin varies according to the variety, but most of the ripe fruits are red, orange or yellowish. Brown lychees are usually rotten
Step 2. Peel the end of the fruit
Grab the bump near the stem and peel off the pink or yellowish-brown portion of this end. Inside you should see the white, semi-transparent pulp that can be eaten. You should do this over a bowl to catch any dripping juice.
- If the lychee has been out of the refrigerator for some time, then the skin will be hard to peel off. Use your fingernails, teeth or a knife to make an incision. If you soak the fruit in water for some time, the operation will be easier.
- If the pulp is completely transparent, spotted or yellow-brown, then the fruit is fermented or rotten.
Step 3. Crush or tear the peel
A perfectly ripe fruit has a soft skin that easily detaches from the pulp. You can gently squeeze the lychee to get the edible part out, but if that doesn't work, keep peeling off small bits of peel with your fingernails.
Remember that the peel cannot be eaten, so throw it or recycle it in the compost
Step 4. Extract the core
In the center is the large seed of the fruit. Gently tear the pulp, using your fingers, and peel off the brown, shiny core to throw it away. This part of the lychee is slightly poisonous.
Step 5. Taste the fruit
Fresh lychees have a sweet taste, firm and juicy flesh with a particular scent that you cannot perceive with the canned product. You can eat them plain or read on for more ways to enjoy them.
You will find a thin brownish membrane inside the pulp, right where the seed was; you can eat it safely. It will give the fruit a delicate crunchy texture without altering its flavor. If you try to remove it, you will lose a lot of tasty juice
Step 6. Store excess lychees
You can store them in the fridge after wrapping them in dry kitchen paper, inside a perforated plastic bag or in a jar with the lid ajar. The fruits keep this way for about a week, even if the skin will turn brown and hard. Discard any fruit that has turned gray.
If you can't eat them all on one occasion, freeze the whole, unpeeled leftovers in an airtight bag. When you want to consume them, put them under hot running water for 15 seconds before peeling them and enjoying them. Partially thawed lychees have a sorbet-like consistency
Part 2 of 2: Using Lychees in Recipes
Step 1. Add them to a fruit salad
This simple option is perfect for summer. Since they quickly lose juices as soon as you peel them, add them at the last minute.
Step 2. Stuff them
Peel them carefully and remove the core without tearing the pulp. Make a mixture of chopped walnuts, honey and / or ginger, and cream cheese such as ricotta or Philadelphia. Gently open the fruits by applying pressure with your thumb and fill them with the cheese mixture using a teaspoon or stick.
You can also make a savory filling, such as stir-fried chicken. Make sure all the ingredients are finely chopped and finally grill the stuffed lychees for 2-3 minutes
Step 3. Garnish the cocktails
Add a lychee to a skewer inside a fruit margarita or other light cocktail. You can also make something new, like a sake and lychee martini or a Mad Eye martini.
Step 4. Finely chop the fruit to make a sauce
Soft, sweet lychees lend an intense flavor to spicy or sour sauces. Make a simple mixture of avocado, lychee, and red onion to add to your favorite sauce.
Step 5. Add the lychees to the hot dishes
You can prepare a chicken flavored with these fruits or another hot and tasty dish. Incorporate them into the vegetables or stir-fried meat a couple of minutes before cooking is complete. This fruit is especially delicious with cinnamon, ginger or honey.
Advice
- The lychees you find in the supermarket are often too old and poorly preserved. Ask the department manager when the next supply is due or shop at a small producer that sends the fruit directly to the consumer.
- If the pulp does not match the description you read in this article, then it is another similar fruit, such as rambutan, longan or nephelium rambutan-ake.
- Some fruits are not fully pollinated and produce atrophied seeds. If you find one of these lychees, you are in luck as there is more pulp to eat.
- Lychees are also sold canned or dried.
Warnings
- If the flesh of the lychee is yellow, it means that the fruit is too old and inedible.
- The pit of the lychee is slightly toxic to humans and animals. Avoid eating it.
