This is a non plant-related post regarding a tropical fruit that I recently found at the grocery store. Annah and I had purchased a freeze-dried variety at a nearby Trader Joe's Store but this was the first time I was able to find the whole fresh fruit for sale at a grocery store.

What is a rambutan? You may be thinking that it looks like something from a Dr. Seuss book, eh? I think it does. Well, according to Wikipedia:

The rambutan (IPA: [ramˈbu.t̪ɑn], Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae, and the fruit of this tree. It is probably native to Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the Lychee, Longan and Mamoncillo. It is believed to be native to the Malay Archipelago. Rambutan in Indonesian or Malay literally means hairy or hairy fruit caused by the 'hair' that covers this fruit. In Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua, it is known as mamón chino. There is a second species regularly for sale at Malay markets which is known as "wild" rambutan. It is a little smaller than the usual red variety and is colored yellow.

and from Rambutan.com:

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. This may change for the rambutan over time as availability and distribution improve.

The package, which contained four rambutan, sold for $2.50, so each individual fruit cost 62 cents. This is expensive but I thought it would be worth it since they are only in season for a few weeks or months. This specific variety was grown in Guatemala.

I wonder how fresh these rambutan actually were since they were not nearly as red as freshly picked rambutan, but that is to be expected for fruit that had to be shipped all the way here to Minnesota.

According to Rambutan.com:

The best fruit have little or no black forming on the tips of the soft spines...[but also explains how...] The soft spines, or spinterns, are safe to handle and lose a lot of water after the fruit has been picked. For this reason, to hold them for any length of time in refrigeration requires some sort of plastic film to slow down the moisture loss. The spinterns may turn black within days after harvest but the fruit inside remains quite fresh and tasty for several days or a week longer. If the humidity is high, then the fruit can be held at room temperature in a plastic bag that is not sealed but rather loosely closed.

Perhaps the quality of these rambutan were indeed sufficient to adequately experience the flavor of a raw rambutan.

Regardless, peeling a rambutan is quite simple. Take a knife and lightly cut the outer skin all the way around the entire fruit.

Once you have cut around the entire fruit you can peel the skin open.

Pull the two pieces completely apart and you will see the white fruit inside.

Just by looking closely at this fruit you can tell that it will be juicy. It also happens to be rather sweet and delicious.

Once all of the flesh from the fruit has been removed it will look like this.

Annah and I would try to grow a plant from this seed if were living in a warmer climate as well as an area where the plant would grow. This is what it would look like if we were able to grow our own!


If you are able to find rambutan in your area and you have not tried it before then you should!

Photo Credits: Top picture of rambutan fruit is from Wikipedia, which was denoted as being in the public domain. The Photos of the rambutan being picked from the tree(s) are from the United States Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Center.

During each weekend for the past month or so I have been making dehydrated apple ring chips so that we can enjoy the wonderful fall apples throughout the winter. It is fairly simple to make your own and in this post I will document the method which I have developed.


Firstly, you will need the following items (as shown above):

• Paring knife
  
• Cutting Board
  
• Mandoline Slicer
  
• 1 Plate
  
• Apples
  
• Dehydrator
  

The first step, after washing the apples, is to cut the core out of the apple with a paring knife. I usually try to cut square on both the top and bottom of the apple so that I can just use my thumb to push the core out of the apple and into the garbage. This usually works pretty well as long as I get a clean cut on both the top and bottom of the apple. For this batch of apple chips I used one Honeycrisp apple, which I had purchased at a local Orchard, and then some cheaper and less tasty apples from the grocery store, the specific type I am not sure of. The Honeycrisp apples seem to make the best apple chips since they are full of sweetness and incredible apple flavor.

The next step in the process is to slice the apples into rings. I use an Oxo Good Grips Mandoline Slicer and it works very well. I would recommend buying one if you don't already have one because not only can you use the slicer to make apple chips, but also potato chips and fancy sliced fruits and vegetables for all of your meals! Anyway, as you can see in the picture above, the apples will slice best if they are perfectly round, but the apple I used before taking the picture was not perfect and therefore resulted in some apple rings which were not perfect.

The dehydrator, which I am borrowing from my parents, is an Nesco American Harvest FD-61 Snackmaster Encore Dehydrator and Jerky Maker which has also worked very well. As the name suggests, it's not only for making your own fruit snacks but your own jerky as well. If you buy one of these you'll find yourself making wonderfully tasty and nutritious snacks of your own!

Once you have sliced all of the apples you can place them on the racks of the dehydrator, making sure that none of them are overlapping since this will result in them not drying correctly. Some instructions suggest that you apply lemon juice, ascorbic acid, or other things to prevent discoloration by oxidation, but I haven't used any of those yet and I have not had any problems with the apple chips. Additionally, I enjoy the natural apple flavor and I am unsure I would want any other flavors added to the apple chips.

The dehydrator has seven different settings ranging from 95 degrees Fahrenheit to 155 degrees Fahrenheit. The instruction book that is included with the dehydrator specifies which temperature to use depending on what you are drying. For apples you need to dry them at 145 degrees for about six to eight hours. You can check intermittently to see how the drying process is progressing, but try to leave the lid on so that too much heat is not lost from the unit.

You can tell that the apple chips are ready when you take the chips out and they are crisp and brittle. Sometimes you will need to take the chips out and let them cool before you are able to determine if they are ready or not. See the images below to see how ours looked when they were done.





For storage, I usually just use a quart size ziplock bag and set them on the counter. This allows for easy access when your apple chip craving strikes!

Some of our fruits and vegetables from a few years ago...
In just a few short months, beginning in late July through the end of September, we will begin to harvest the fruits and vegetables from our garden. I found this picture in my collection and thought I'd post a little bit about what you see in the photo. Starting from top to bottom in the picture you will see green peppers, banana peppers, jalapeño peppers, okra, purple podded pole beans, eggplant, roma tomatoes, some heirloom tomatoes, tomatillos, a zucchini, and some cucumbers. This is just a small selection of the fruits and vegetables that we grow every year. There is nothing like fresh pickings from your garden. We can't wait until our plants are ready for this year's harvest! In addition to our own garden, my oldest sister is growing a massive garden of her own, so we should have plenty of fruits and vegetables to last us for a long time!