Rambutan

Julie is trying to get the people at my office to try some new things and brought in this spickly "thing" that she got at the farmer's market called the rambutan.

The one that we had was kind of reddish with these spiny " hairs" on the outside. We carefully cut down the center.

and inside was this sweet juicy fruit- which Tyler describes as " a cross between a jelly fish and a grape"- he says this because we actually picked up a small jelly fish on the beach and it had a similar feel on the surface.

The fruit easily pops out and it reminded me of a fresh lychee. Inside was a nut that had the texture of a almond but slightly bitter- I wonder what it would have been like to roast it but alas, I ate it.

Checking out a little history behind it I found out that Rambutan
(IPA: [ramˈbu.t̪ɑn], Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and is the fruit of this tree. It is probably native to Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including ( as I thought) the Lychee, Longan and Mamoncillo. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian or Malay literally means hairy caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. In Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino. There is a second species regularly for sale at Malay markets which is known as "wild" rambutan. It is a little smaller than the usual red variety and is colored yellow.

I am always trying to get my kids to try new things and I am always excited to learn something new- In all of my 40 plus years this WAS totally new to me- I hope when you find these things ar the market that you give it a try- you may like it. Thanks Julie!