Lychee
Litchi chinensis · Tropical fruit
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A small subtropical fruit with a bumpy, rose-red shell around translucent, jelly-like white flesh. Intensely sweet and low in acid, it smells of rose, citrus and grape, and perfumes cocktails and desserts.
Picking a good onedrag
Bright, tight, just pickedBrown, weeping, fermenting
Shop freshEveryday bestSalads, sorbets, cocktails - wherever the perfume shows.
Shell colourRed fading to tan at the tips
SqueezeFirm to hard, no give at all
Stem endStub brown and dry, still tight
SmellFaint sweetness, little else
What you get from one
60%
Edible part
9.6 g of aril - shell and seed off
16 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
A domestic fridge holds it about 5× longer than the counter.
90-95%
Humidity
Still air, keep it bagged
Airflow