Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Try It Tuesday - Rambutan

Welcome to my second installment of Try It Tuesday, in which we try a fruit or vegetable that is new to us. Last week I discovered that mustard greens are awesome.  Today we are sampling the Southeast Asian fruit called rambutan.

Its name literally means "hairy" in Indonesian. You can see why.


Freaky, huh?

But when you peel off the outer layer, you have what resembles a large white grape.


It tastes like a grape, too.  Jackson enjoyed the sweetness.


I'll be honest, I didn't really care for the rambutan. Each fruit contains an almond-shaped pit that is covered in a woody bark. This bark sticks to the fruit and is hard to scrape off. It's safe to eat, but I don't like the tough, chewy texture.


Oh well. They can't all be winners. Have you tried rambutan? Did you like it?

9 comments:

  1. These remind me of lychee, a fruit my husband loves and grows naturally in India. It passed the kids test, so they must be just as delicious! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I love me some mustard greens, I think Jackson is braver than me. This fruit scares me ;)

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  3. I have tried those...we have a friend who owns a Chinese restaurant and he let us try some...you're right they are sweet and good...we just sort of messily ate them like a peach leaving the pit...

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  4. I saw these on another blog about a year or so ago. Very brave of you to try them. I love the idea for Tuesdays!

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  5. I hope that didn't come across like you were being uncreative. Just the opposite! I was just saying that's the only other place I've seen them. Whew!

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  6. Eek! You are brave to try those. They would have scared me off. I don't think I'd be a big fan either..I'm picky with grapes and I hate lychees...but good job!

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  7. It looks alot like a lychee - I guess they are maybe related? I've never seen it before. Looks awesome!

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  8. I really like rambutan. Like you, I think it's fun to try out new-to-me foods when I see them at the farmers market or grocery store. Rambutan is especially fun, because they're such a puzzle. The hairy skin gives off no clue about the peeled grape-like fruit you'll find inside.

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