Fruit of the week: Rambutan

Name: Rambutan

Brand: Aroy-D

Place of Purchase: Uni Mart Korean Grocery in Ames, Iowa

Country/Region of Origin: Thailand

Price in Iowa: $2.59 for 8oz of fruit

Description: Firm, "dragon-eye" type fruits.

Flavor: Sweet, honey, citrus, rose, with a lingering flowery aftertaste

Aroma: Like sugar and rose.

Texture/Mouth-feel: Nice, firm orbs

Notes: Apparently, the rambutan is the most popular fruit in Southeast Asia. Indigenous to Malaysia, today Thailand is the biggest producer of this fruit. Similar to the lychee and the longan, this fruit is produced by an evergreen. In the pod, it is surrounded by fleshy red spines (when ripe), with a white "dragon eye" fruit underneath, covering an oily seed. A single rambutan tree can produce over 100 pounds of fruit every year.

Unfortunately, I had to get the canned variety packaged in heavy syrup. So, the sweetness level is probably off. I've had rambutan juice before, but it was pretty watered-down. So, I have to assume that this is the closest thing to the actual flavor. I put the syrup in my tea. It was pretty nice, actually. The flowery aftertaste made everything delicious.