Lychee

The lychee (also spelled litchi and lichee) is most popular in China, where it is eaten as a fruit, often chilled in syrup, dried and sold as lychee nuts, and cooked in meat dishes. Fresh lychees can be difficult to find, but the fruit is commonly available canned in syrup. The wide-spreading lychee tree has dense green foliage and loose clusters of fruit growing on long stems. The fruit grows in bunches; each lychee is about the size of an unshelled walnut and is enclosed in a scarlet-colored knobby shell enclosing a firm, translucent, white or pinkish juicy pulp, which in turn surrounds a large, brown inedible seed. To enjoy a lychee fresh, peel from the stem down to keep the fruit in one piece. If the lychee is not freshly picked, the knobby shell will be brittle and brown, but this does not mean the quality has deteriorated. The flesh is juicy and has a sweet, almost perfumed flavor and aroma. Fresh lychees are at their peak in June and July, and can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks or frozen. Lychees can be used in mousses, charlottes, ice creams, and sauces.