Litchi Chinensis—A Taste of the Tropics!

Are you ready to experience the exotic? If so, try a fresh lychee (pronounced lee chee) fruit! During June through early August, you may find domestically-produced lychee (also known as litchi, lichee, laichi, or lechia), in your local specialty market or Asian grocery store. In the produce section, look for clusters of rosy ping pong ball-sized fruit. Alternatively, ask your Chinese friends about lychee, as they will likely know a source for fresh, succulent fruit if you don’t know where to find them.

The lychee is native to southern China and southeastern Asia. Today, they are grown in subtropical regions such as Guangdong and Fujian provinces of China, Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Israel, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Pakistan, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States. Production in the U. S. is concentrated in central and southern Florida, although some lychee are also grown in southern California and Texas, as well as Hawaii.

Lychee fruit are produced on self-fruitful evergreen trees propagated by air layering branches of preferred cultivars. While trees can be grown from seed, they may not bear fruit until they are five to 25 years-old. Trees can grow quite tall so they are pruned to 10 to 15 feet height after harvest to facilitate picking. Some of the common cultivars grown in Florida are ‘Brewster’ (high quality) and ‘Mauritius’ (not quite as flavorful, but a consistent producer). ‘Sweetheart’ is another cultivar with large red fruit containing a small seed. ‘Emperor’ is a cultivar that can be grown in a container and overwintered in a greenhouse. Young trees can not tolerate temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit for more than eight hours. Although lychee are grown in subtropical areas, they require a chilling period of at least 40 hours at temperatures between 30 and 40 degrees to set fruit. Lychee trees produced from air layers bear fruit the first growing season, but it is stripped off for three years until the tree is established vegetatively. Thereafter, trees are allowed to produce fruit. The greatest fruit yields are obtained when trees are about 10 years-old.

Clusters of fruit should be picked when the lychee are fully ripe because they do not continue to ripen after harvest. The aromatic fruit is about one inch in diameter. Mature lychee are covered in by a pink to strawberry red-colored leathery rind that has a rough (pebbled) texture. After the thin rind is punctured, the edible portion (aril) can be savored. The aril is white, translucent, and juicy with a distinctive sweet flavor. Inside the aril is a hard brown seed that can be up to an inch long. The most desirable cultivars have atrophied seeds called “chicken tongue” because of the greater proportion of flesh relative to the seed size. Fresh lychee can be used in a myriad of appetizers, salads, side dishes, main courses, desserts and drinks. Many recipes can be found at http://www.lycheesonline.com. Fresh lychee can be stored in plastic bags in the refrigerator for five to 10 days. They can also be frozen without peeling, canned (without the rind), or dehydrated like raisins for later use. In most grocery stores, the canned product, which contains the hard fruit in very sweet syrup, is often labeled “lychee nuts” even though they are actually not a nut because the seeds are inedible.

Like other fruit, fresh lychee are low in calories. One cup of lychee fruit has only 125 calories. They are also a good source of potassium and dietary fiber. Lychees are also rich in vitamin C, if you would like an alternative to oranges.

The next time you yearn for an exotic adventure, take and trip to the market and purchase some fresh lychee fruit to enjoy the luscious taste of the tropics!

Michele Warmund
WarmundM@missouri.edu