Did you know?
Litchis finally popped onto the American radar with the invention of the litchi martini, according to Florida grower Peter Schnebly, even though the fruit has been eaten and enjoyed by the Chinese for some 2,000 years.
Litchis were such rare fruits that until the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.) they were reserved for the imperial household, according to Deh-Ta Hsiung’s book, “The Chinese Kitchen.”
Encased in a tough, bumpy red shell, this small, round white fruit has a brightly sweet, almost strawberry-like flavor, and a smooth texture akin to a very firm grape.
Buying and storage tips
Fresh fruit are available in June and July at specialty food stores and ethnic markets, but canned or dried litchis are sold year-round. Choose fruit with deeply colored red shells, according to Cathy Thomas in “Melissa’s Great Book of Produce.” Schnebly said that the key to keeping a litchi fresh is to prevent the fruit from drying out. Leave the litchis in their covered plastic selling container or, if sold loose, put the fruit in a plastic bag, he said. Refrigerate up to two weeks. Frozen litchis can be held for up to three months.
Preparation tips
Split the bright red shell with your thumbnail or use a sharp knife. Peel off the shell. Remove the white fruit and squeeze out the inedible brown seed.
Cooking tips
Fresh litchis can be eaten out-of-hand or tossed into a fruit salad. There are recipes for sorbets, salsas, tarts and, of course, martinis.
Deh-Ta Hsiung said that dried litchi is mostly used in Chinese cooking. Dried litchis have a datelike texture.
Schnebly likes to freeze fresh litchis in the shell for eating during the off-season. “You peel it and eat it frozen like it’s a Popsicle,” he said.
———-
wdaley@tribune.com
