Eat a Rambutan

Rambutan, a native of Southeast Asia, now grows in tropical climates all over the world. The leaves differ from one variety to another, but the hairy or spiky red (when mature) fruits are unmistakable. Rambut is the Malay word for "hair". Try one next time you're in the tropics! In Costa Rica they are known as "Mamon Chino" or Chinese Sucker for the way the fruit is eaten and that they are like a lychee fruit from China. The fruits are abundant in Central America.

Steps

 * 1) Open the rambutan by removing part of the skin in any one of several ways:
 * 2) * Squeeze the rambutan till the skin breaks. Then peel half the skin off, leaving the other half to hold in your hand like a wrapper.
 * 3) *[[Image:Rambutan 7514.jpg|thumb|After peeling]]Find a seam running down the top to the bottom of the fruit, and pull apart the leathery skin. You'll find something resembling a peeled grape, but larger, beneath it.
 * 4) *[[Image:Rambutan_619.jpg|thumb]][[Image:Rambutan_638.jpg|thumb]]Alternatively, use a knife to make an incision into the skin, and squeeze the fruit out. Do not cut through the seed.
 * 5) [[Image:Rambutan_644.jpg|thumb]]Eat around the seed. Avoid biting too close to the seed--you want to avoid the tough, papery skin surrounding it. Some people nibble at the flesh, others pop the whole thing in their mouth and spit out the seed when they're done (see Warnings below). Some varieties have bitter seeds; others have sweet seeds, presumably containing negligible amounts of tannins or alkaloids. In the latter case, one can eat the entire fruit, seed and all (but not the outer skin). Try the Universal Edibility Test before consuming the seeds in quantity.

Tips

 * The fruit is not overly sweet, nor sour; it tastes something like a grape.
 * If serving, leave half the skin on after cutting as a decorative holder, such as if serving it as part of a fruit platter.
 * They cost 3/Quetzal, or about 4 cents each, at a market in San Pedro la Laguna, Guatemala (as of December 2007). This was one of the varieties with non-bitter seeds. In Costa Rica they cost about 50 cents a pound, and about US$1 for 2 dozen sold street side in Honduras in 2007.
 * After buying rambutan, you can keep it for three to five days in the refrigerator and covered with plastic wrap to reduce moisture loss (or leave them out if you live in a humid environment).

Warnings

 * Some sources say not to eat the seed or the rind, which contain toxic saponins and tannins.
 * If the flesh sticks to the seed and is difficult to separate, the rambutan is probably overripe.
 * Watch out for fruit maggots, indicated by brownish, sandy stuff where the fruit is attached to the stem.
 * [[Image:Rambutan_31.jpg|thumb]]As with any plant, make sure of positive identification before eating them. You'll likely find them in a local market, so try them from that source first before eating them in the wild.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Eat a Kiwano (Horned Melon)
 * How to Eat Prickly Pear Cactus
 * How to Test if a Plant Is Edible
 * How to Eat Yucca

Sources and Citations

 * This research was made possible, in part, by a land grant from the City of the Sun though the specifics of the research were not coordinated nor endorsed by COSF.
 * http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/special/1999/asian/rambutan.html