Especially for Linda - Rambutan

(photos and notes taken from www.rambutan.com/) (Some words / sentence were deleted to make this explanation brief and simple).

(Linda of FrenchlessinFrance asked what a rambutan is. I manage to get the nicest pictures of rambutan tree and explanation of rambutan from the above mentioned website. Rambutan is very common in Malaysia, Linda. I'm not very sure if u can get rambutan in France, but if u plan to come over to Malaysia, I would love to bring u around to a Rambutan orchard.)

Exotic fruit of Southeast Asia.
The rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum, is a fruit considered exotic to people outside of its native range. To people of Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillippines, Vietnam, Borneo, and other countries of this region, the rambutan is a relatively common fruit the same way an apple is common to many people in cooler climates.

The word "rambut" in the fruit name 'rambutan' is Malay for 'hairy,' and this refers to the spiky rind. Indeed, without the soft spines on the rind, the rambutan would resemble the lychee (or litchee) which is in the same botanical family. The structure internally is quite similar, with a single central inedible seed and edible white flesh wrapped around it but the skin is the part that makes the rambutan so distinctive in appearance. Other members of the same botanical family, the Sapindaceae, include the longan (Dimocarpus longan), the canepa or mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus), the pulasan (Nephelium mutabile), and guaraná (Paullinia cupana).

The fruit should be 2" to 3" long and oval but can be almost round in some varieties. The shape can also be more elongated if the seed does not develop. The two pictures above show, on the left, a pile of fully ripe fruit and on the right a cut-away section of the rind revealing the white, edible interior of the rambutan. Look for a bright red color in most cases but there are some rambutan varieties that ripen a bright yellow or yellow with an orange blush.

The opening of the rambutan can be accomplished by either cutting part way into the rind or, if fresh, biting into it as the spines are quite soft and pose no threat. Opening the fruit Once the rind is cut part way around the equator of the fruit it can be pried open. There may be some juice if the rambutan is really fresh that you should try to catch before it drips. It will be as sweet as the fruit you are about to enjoy.

The rambutan can now be removed from the rind by squeezing until it pops out. There is one seed in the center which you discard as it is bitter. The rest of the fruit is yours to enjoy and it is quite refreshing. Besides vitamin C, there are many other nutritional components to savor.

The fruit forms in clusters and some of these can be quite large, numbering in the dozens. As full ripeness approaches, the entire branch can sag under the weight and be pulled down a few feet. Harvesting involves cutting off the entire cluster if the majority of the fruit are ripe; if not, then several visits to the tree are required to complete the task.

From flowering to ripe fruit, it takes 90 days or more. The green fruits start to turn yellow and then red, sometimes quite rapidly. In some years, the process from green to red can take place in 5 to 10 days. Keep in mind that the ripe rambutan is typically red but there are some varieties that finish with a bright yellow color and some that end up with an orange blush. The flavor is pretty much the same as the red ones. The best fruit have little or no black forming on the tips of the soft spines.

(For my Malaysian friends, ok juga kita sekali-sekala belajar asal usul rambutan ani!hahahahah)