What the heck is a Rambutan? It sure caught our eye at the Alemany Farmer's Market. It is an exotic fruit from Southeast Asia. If you live in Malaysia, Rambutan would be fairly common. Rambutan in Malaysian means hairy. This seems appropriate when you see this fruit. It has fleshy pliable spikes. The Rambutan is a very colorful eye catching red . We asked the vendor what does it taste like. He told us it has a taste like a lychee. Since I have no idea what a lychee taste like, we bought one.
Once home, the Rambutan was sliced around the center. One side of the skin was peeled away. A pale white flesh is revealed. Under this flesh is a seed. We cut a small piece and tasted. It was sweet. The texture could be compared to a grape. It was pleasant in curious sort of way. I guess you could make a jam or jellies with them. The Rambutan will be left out of the Holiday fruitcake this year.
