# What is this delicious fruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486 "2009-09-09T22:14:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/1 "2009-09-09T22:14:22Z")
My co-worker brought to work a basket of various odd and interesting fruit that she picked up at a nearby Asian market. There’s one particularly tasty one that she doesn’t remember what it was called. They come on a branch, in bunches, kind of like grapes. They’re about the size of cherries. They’re covered in a brownish-yellowish dry skin, which you peel off. The fruit itself is clear. It has the texture of a peeled grape. They have a reddish-black pit in the center of each fruit. They’re _awesome_. What are they? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/2 "2009-09-09T22:17:29Z")
Sounds like a leechee. [Lychee - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leechee) ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/3 "2009-09-09T22:25:15Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Sounds like a leechee. [Lychee - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leechee) Looks just like the picture, so I think that’s it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TheTerribleTako](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@TheTerribleTako](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTerribleTako)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/4 "2009-09-09T22:32:20Z")
The brownish-yellow skin points to a [longan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan). Generally, lychees have a spikier texture while longans are smooth. Lychees are also a little larger generally. Both fruits are clear and very sweet. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/5 "2009-09-09T23:57:09Z")
Just discussing this with my mother at a grocery, and we vote for longan. ---
**Author:** ![Zephyurs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/dfb087/32.png) [@Zephyurs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zephyurs)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/6 "2009-09-10T03:31:55Z")
Very likely a longan, from the color you describe. To hijack this thread: there’s a fruit that I am totally unable to identify. I’ve not ever found it in a grocery store; it’s always growing along a sidewalk, and I pluck one off and eat it. Superficially it looks like a lychee, but is not one. On the outside it’s red. The texture of the skin is pretty rough; the skin is also edible and not very tough. Inside the flesh is yellow, with no pit or anything, and sort of bland and grainy. Any good guesses? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/7 "2009-09-10T04:11:43Z")
> [@Zephyurs](#): > > Very likely a longan, from the color you describe. > > To hijack this thread: there’s a fruit that I am totally unable to identify. I’ve not ever found it in a grocery store; it’s always growing along a sidewalk, and I pluck one off and eat it. > > Superficially it looks like a lychee, but is not one. On the outside it’s red. The texture of the skin is pretty rough; the skin is also edible and not very tough. Inside the flesh is yellow, with no pit or anything, and sort of bland and grainy. > > Any good guesses? No idea, but are you in the habit of eating strange fruit growing near the sidewalk? How did you know this was edible to begin with? Just curious… ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/8 "2009-09-10T04:12:53Z")
My initial thought was was a jaboticaba [Jaboticaba - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaboticaba) - wrong of course but worth a try if you ever have the opportunity. > [@Zephyurs](#): > > Very likely a longan, from the color you describe. > > To hijack this thread: there’s a fruit that I am totally unable to identify. I’ve not ever found it in a grocery store; it’s always growing along a sidewalk, and I pluck one off and eat it. > > Superficially it looks like a lychee, but is not one. On the outside it’s red. The texture of the skin is pretty rough; the skin is also edible and not very tough. Inside the flesh is yellow, with no pit or anything, and sort of bland and grainy. > > Any good guesses? Irish strawberry perhaps? [Strawberry tree - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Tree) ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/9 "2009-09-10T06:57:20Z")
> [@Zephyurs](#): > > Very likely a longan, from the color you describe. > > To hijack this thread: there’s a fruit that I am totally unable to identify. I’ve not ever found it in a grocery store; it’s always growing along a sidewalk, and I pluck one off and eat it. > > Superficially it looks like a lychee, but is not one. On the outside it’s red. The texture of the skin is pretty rough; the skin is also edible and not very tough. Inside the flesh is yellow, with no pit or anything, and sort of bland and grainy. > > Any good guesses? Is it a type of [mulberry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mulberries_in_the_US.jpg)? There’s a tree in a friend’s front yard that I have positively ID’d, but the fruits look like that picture. ---
**Author:** ![Tabby\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tabby\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabby_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/10 "2009-09-10T09:26:23Z")
Lychees are generally larger than cherries - about the size of large limes, or perhaps biggish unshelled walnuts. If they’re the size of average cherries, they’re probably longans. Also, lychees are quite distinctly redder than longans. Brown skin would probably indicate longans. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/11 "2009-09-10T09:33:07Z")
> [@Zephyurs](#): > > Very likely a longan, from the color you describe. > > To hijack this thread: there’s a fruit that I am totally unable to identify. I’ve not ever found it in a grocery store; it’s always growing along a sidewalk, and I pluck one off and eat it. > > Superficially it looks like a lychee, but is not one. On the outside it’s red. The texture of the skin is pretty rough; the skin is also edible and not very tough. Inside the flesh is yellow, with no pit or anything, and sort of bland and grainy. > > Any good guesses? I guess you need to tell us your location. It’s a big planet. Could be one of the guavas. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/12 "2009-09-10T11:10:50Z")
Lycees can be bought canned. Not as nice as fresh, bu a very good substitute. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/13 "2009-09-10T12:52:51Z")
> [@TheTerribleTako](#): > > The brownish-yellow skin points to a [longan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longan). Generally, lychees have a spikier texture while longans are smooth. Lychees are also a little larger generally. Both fruits are clear and very sweet. That could be it then. On the Wiki page for the Lychee fruit, in the first picture they look redder than the fruits my co-worker brought in, but a later picture (the one captioned “lychee showing a peeled fruit”) shows yellowish ones. Looking at the wiki page for longans, though, they definitely look more like what we were eating yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/14 "2009-09-10T15:20:17Z")
Sounds to me like a [Butia Palm berry](http://www.floridata.com/ref/B/butia_c.cfm) (also known as Jelly Palm or Pindo Palm). They make these little yellow berries that are very sweet and tasty. My dogs eat them off the ground in my backyard. (Scroll to the bottom of the page linked above to see the berries. ---
**Author:** ![Zephyurs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/dfb087/32.png) [@Zephyurs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zephyurs)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/15 "2009-09-10T17:34:48Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] No idea, but are you in the habit of eating strange fruit growing near the sidewalk? How did you know this was edible to begin with? Just curious… [/QUOTE] I’m not sure… it looked edible? I figure if things look edible, they’re meant to be eaten. [QUOTE=madrabbitwoman] Irish strawberry perhaps? [Strawberry tree - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Tree) [/QUOTE] Ah, this is it. ---
**Author:** ![lunar\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lunar\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lunar_elf)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/16 "2009-09-10T18:02:40Z")
Some more [lychee pics](http://fotocuisine.com/2009/06/17/grouper-with-a-lychee-chile-veloute/) from a friend’s foodblog. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-delicious-fruit/509486/17 "2009-09-10T18:04:25Z")
> [@Zephyurs](#): > > I’m not sure… it looked edible? I figure if things look edible, they’re meant to be eaten. Just wondering. As a kid, I got sick eating some kind of pretty looking berries off an evergreen bush. [All sorts of good-looking poisonous fruit out there.](http://www.life123.com/home-garden/trees-shrubs/berry-bushes/poisonous-berries.shtml) > [@](#): > > Berries can be delicious or deadly and anywhere from very easy to rather difficult to identify. Some poisonous berries closely resemble edible ones, meaning that unless you’re certain of what you’re eating, you may be putting yourself at risk. I’m not saying your chances of hurting yourself are necessarily high, but the idea of “if things look edible, they’re meant to be eaten” isn’t exactly bulletproof logic, and I wouldn’t want others to not know the possible risks. I’d exercise the same caution as with mushrooms. If I don’t know exactly what it is, I’m not going to eat it.