Rambutan is often described as sweet and creamy, while the lychee fruit offers a crisper, slightly less sweet flavor. Longans are the least sweet of the three and are distinctively tart. The rambutan fruit is related to the lychee and longan fruits.
Where does the Rambutan come from and where does it grow?
The Rambutan is part of the Sapindaceae family of flowering plants in the soapberry family of fruits. The lychee and longan are other fruits that belong to that same family and are related to the Rambutan. Three trees can grow really high up to 80 feet.
It is native to Southeast Asia and widely cultivated in places like Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, etc. This fruit was my second favorite fruit behind the Mango when I was living in the Philippines. I had an opportunity to live there for a couple years in the late 1990’s.
The Rambutan also grows in some areas of East Africa, India, and South America. In the United States, the best places to try and grow them would be Florida, some parts of California, and Hawaii. They would do well in Puerto Rico as well.
Here in Phoenix, I usually can only find them at my local Asian Supermarket.
How to eat a rambutan?
This fruit is very easy to eat. The classic variety of Rambutan will be bright to dark read when it is ripe. If they are black or have black hairs they are overripe. In the picture above you can see a few overripe ones.
Wash the fruit and then there are a few ways to open them. Some people will just bite into it to crack the skin and then open them up. Or other people will use their fingers to crack them open. I usually just run a knife around the middle of it. I don’t like putting the hairy skin in my mouth, haha.
Now you can just bite into the ball of white flesh that is in the middle. It will have a pit/seed in the middle, that you should spit out.
Typically eaten fresh, it can also be added to fruit salads, curries, and desserts like ice cream and sorbets.
Rambutan fruit recipe Sweet & Sour Sinhalese Fruit Dishes | Sri Lankan Food | Nature Cooking
FAQ
What does a rambutan taste like?
Can you eat rambutan raw?
Do Americans eat rambutan?
How many rambutan can I eat a day?
What does rambutan taste like?
Some say the flavor of rambutan tastes like a sweet green grape with a touch of acidity and floral undertones. Rambutans are most often enjoyed fresh but also sometimes cooked, used to make dishes like rambutan jam or added to curries to temper the heat.
Is rambutan a fruit?
Rambutan is a unique and nutritious fruit, often compared to the likes of longan fruit, lychee fruit, and grape due to its sweet and creamy nature. There are many creative uses for rambutan in various recipes, ranging from refreshing fruit salads to delectable desserts.
Can rambutans be eaten fresh?
Peeled and pitted rambutans can be added to fruit salads. Rambutans are used as a sweet ingredient in curries and sweet sticky rice recipes. If you have more rambutan fruit than can be eaten fresh, they can be cooked to make jellies or jams.
Are rambutans sustainable?
In fact, these spinterns helped give the rambutan its name, which comes from the Malay word for “hair.” Once you break inside the beautiful-yet-rough exterior, rambutans offer a floral, sweet flavor similar to a grape. Scientists, however, are looking to these colorful fruits for more sustainable uses beyond the plate.