Part 2 (Strange Fruit series)

If you saw this in the produce bins at the grocery store, would you buy it?



This is called a rambutan. It's a little bit bigger than a golf ball, and it has hairy-looking tentacles protruding from a pretty red raspberry-like skin. The tentacles are softer than they appear, but I was pretty much operating on the assumption that there was a solid skin that wasn't meant for eating. I didn't do any research on this beforehand (but if I did, I'd see that there's a pretty easy way to eat it!) because I wanted to be surprised by the inside like I was with the dragonfruit.

I began to slice the fruit in half and I could feel the skin coming away from the inside. The center was a solid white ball that looked like an egg. It was smooth and only slightly grainy. The smooth fiber had an almost silky feel to it.



Next problem: how the heck do I eat this thing?

I have to admit, I was not totally sold on eating this thing (in fact, P thought I was nuts. Still does!)

But I'm not afraid of fruit! I can do it! I'll put it in my blog!

I removed the white center from the scary skin. I was going to tell you that I licked the white ball but I won't because that sounds like another, much dirtier, story. So, having tasted the outside with my tongue (not willing to commit to a bite) I determined that this would not, in fact, kill me and I could actually eat some and not die. It was mostly sweet and just a tiny bit sour. I scraped my teeth against the surface. It felt like a tough gelatinous ball. I took a tiny bite because I am a big wuss because I didn't want to overwhelm my taste buds, and I wasn't that impressed. It was sweet, but not very flavorful. It wasn't especially appealing, but not exactly bad either.

I didn't finish it, but if I did, I would have found a seed in the center (glad I didn't put it all in my mouth and start chewing!) I won't be buying any more rambutan(s?) but I'm glad I gave it a try.

So there you have it.

Strange fruit:2 Twirl:0