While looking for strange fruit, my husband discovered rambutan at our local grocery store. It is an odd-looking fruit that is closely related to lychee. They are covered with spines that are harmless. Tasting extra sweet and delicious, the fruit also has several important vitamins and minerals.

From the picture above, you can see that rambutan are small and have slick, whitish fruit. The fruit is actually an aril, meaning that it’s the fleshy outgrowth of a seed. Seeds from this fruit are inedible and considered poisonous. To prepare the fruit, rinse in cold water then dry. After getting a cutting board and knife, make a superficial cut along half the length of the leathery shell. Continue cutting until the halves are separated, revealing the soft flesh. Some shells come off easier than others, but there is no hassle to cleaning them. I like to rinse any debris off the flesh after unsheathing.

Rambutan Health Benefits

Flesh from the rambutan fruit is low in calories with 75 calories per 100 grams of edible amount. In that 100 grams there are 30 mg of vitamin C, which constitutes 50% of the daily recommended value. There is also a decent amount of fiber (0.24 g) that helps with digestive health. The fruit has a good amount of B-complex vitamins as well. Minerals provided by the fruit are calcium, phosphorus, copper, and potassium. All of those are key components of our bodies that keep our systems running properly. The little fruits are filling because of their water content, so it doesn’t take many to be satisfied.

It was fun trying a new thing, and my husband and I now both like rambutan. To me, it tastes like a slightly sweeter and milder grape. A good way to eat one is to put the whole thing in your mouth and gently suck on it. Make sure the seed isn’t eaten or chewed when getting the flesh separated. It’s best to eat any peeled fruit immediately, but unpeeled fruit can keep 10-12 days inside a refrigerator with proper humidity.