Longan: Dragon's Eye

A case of this tropical fruit that grows in southern China, Indonesia and Thailand among other places was brought to my house because it was not fit for being commercially sold (white stuff on the outside skin). But they were still edible. It has a similar texture to fresh lychee. And just like lychee, they have an inedible skin. By the name "dragon's eye" you might notice that there is a dark black pit in the center that shows through the more transparent fruit flesh. Who needs peeled grapes in a bowl to be your bowl of eyeballs at Halloween when you can get your hands on this stuff? Most people eat them fresh. They can also be cooked with. The flavor is difficult to describe. While sweet, the longan has a fermented taste to it that many might not find too pleasing. I thought maybe I had a bad batch, but even the dried versions had a similar flavor. I still found myself though popping them due to the curious taste.

Companies have been trying for years to get this fruit imported from Thailand, and they finally succeeded this past year (2007). The first couple shipments were great. The longan were plump, fat and round. But the past few have not been of such high quality (thus resulting in an entire case of defective longan ending up in my kitchen). It's something new to try... maybe you'll even want to throw it into a fruit salad along with some almond gelatin.