Now I’m sure there are MANY people around who’ve tried lychee or have had lychee flavored stuff, but I KNOW for at least people I grew up with in the very sheltered northern area of New Hampshire, this type of stuff is very different and alien from the norm…and practically impossible to find. Today Tomar bought two small bundles of lychees in these mesh bags. He used to eat these all the time when he was in Hong Kong, but for me this was all a new experience. I’ve had candies that were lychee flavored and lychee from the can, but never fresh! So anyways…he explained to me how you eat them;
Basically just rip off a piece of the rind and squeeze out the ‘berry‘ that’s in it. It just pops out. It was pretty tasty and I was surprised to find that they had these giant brown seeds in them too. I would describe the flavor similar as a giant grape sort of thing with an apple-like flavor.
Tomar claimed they weren’t that great – they were on sale after all, so whatever! I still liked them…but he says a GOOD fresh lychee is like the same difference between real cherries and a canned maraschino cherry. Guess I’ll just have to wait till we go somewhere foreign and see if they have really fresh ones.
Also known as pitaya, strawberry pear, or nanettikafruit, I think dragon fruit is the best (and suitable) name you could give it since it looks so fantastical – bright red with green leafs hanging from the rind…though I think there are some different types that are yellow and spiny and have a sour flavor. It has a soft white and heavily seeded inside that tastes somewhere between a mild strawberry or an apple/pear with a kiwi’s soft and seedy pulp. If you like most fruit the chances are you’ll like this one. Also, if you’re into eating healthy then look no further. Dragon fruit is rich in vitamin C and antioxidants along with some other healthy crap.
