Lychees

Quantity/Pack: 2 Pounds
Seasonality: May - Oct, Dec - Jan
Origin: China, Israel, Mexico, & Taiwan (May - Aug). South Africa (Dec - Jan)

This item must be shipped alone, and sent via overnight shipping due to perishability.

Lychee is also known as a Chinese Cherry, belonging to the tropical Sapinadaceae family. Not actually related to a cherry, the Lychee originated in India and is native to Southeast Asia.

The Lychee is a very delicately sweet, juicy, extremely aromatic subtropical fruit which grows on a species of an evergreen tree in bunches like mulberries. Each fruit is 1 to 1.5 inches in diameter and covered within a thin, protective skin which is light pink to deep red in color.

Crack open just below the stem and peel to expose the translucent white fruit, then eat like a cherry, disposing of the single pit inside. Lychees can be eaten out of hand or added to fruit salads. The Lychee is such a prized fruit in Asia that it is often served by itself over ice for dessert.

Choose lychees that are reddish-pink in color, although those with browner skins are fine to eat as well. To delay color change from red to brown and to avoid moisture loss, store lychees wrapped in a paper towel and in a perforated plastic bag. Lychees produce very little ethylene. Keep humidity level high and the temperature at 34 - 40F.

Lychees should not be peeled until just before they are served. Remove peel and black seed. When using lychees in cooking, add at the last minute for a wonderful, fragrant flavor.

Our red lychees come from Mexico, Taiwan, South Africa and Israel. Our green lychees come from China.