Wampee

Clausena lansium · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

The wampee (Clausena lansium) is a small, grape-sized subtropical fruit borne in loose clusters on an evergreen tree of the citrus family (Rutaceae). Native to southern China and mainland Southeast Asia, it has thin, downy yellow-brown skin and translucent, grape-like flesh that ranges from sweet to bracingly sour-resinous.

Picking a good onedrag

Plump, taut, gold-tan and resinousSplit, leaking, winey-sour

Market freshThe standard bunch, and good as it is. Taste one first: a mouth-puckering wampee is a sour cultivar, not a young fruit, and those go to jam and pie.Everyday best

SkinTan to brown, plump, a dull patch here and there

Squeeze oneSoft and springy, still filling its skin

Cluster and stalksStalk tips browning, the bunch still holding

Rub the skin and smellFaintly resinous, sweet, a grape note behind it

What to look for, from plump, taut, gold-tan and resinous to split, leaking, winey-sour.

Preparing