Fruit Tree of the Day: Lychee

14

Lychee Tree
In yesterday’s Fruit Tree of the Day post, we learned that a Chinese bacteria is wiping out the citrus industry in Florida. The reason the disease originated there is citrus trees originated there too. It turns out south China has a nearly identical climate to Florida, so pretty much anything that can be grown there can be grown here too. The Chinese appreciate Lychees like we do peaches: They’re delicious when picked local, but are just meh when shipped, since they have to be picked early and get bruised easily. I live in the Tampa Bay area, and even when shipped here from Miami, lots of lychees taste like an off-season peach–you know it can taste better, and it’s just depressing when it doesn’t. Legend has it that an ancient Chinese emperor set up something like the pony express just to bring him fresh lychees as quickly as possible.

So, this is a great thing to grow yourself to get the best taste. Also, just look at them; they’re beautiful to boot!

Lychee close-up

I don’t know how to explain the taste besides “delicious.” They don’t really taste like more familiar fruits. Asian stores near you may carry canned lychees, or when in-season in Florida, (June) you may find fresh lychees in those stores. Just remember it tastes much better when picked straight off the tree, and tastes 3x better than canned ones. They’re also a little more tart and not overwhelmingly sweet like canned lychees tend to be.

The only bad thing about them is they’re unreliable bearers–some varieties only bear 1 out of every 2 (or sometimes 3) years. So if you really want lychees, get two trees of different types so that if one doesn’t bear, the other one will.