Messy hair drupe

I love finding unusual things to cook with. Well, Adrian works at Walmart so when an unusual fruit passed his register, he knew I would want to give it a try. Adrian even purchased the fruit and brought it home to me. Well, I went looking for recipes and let me tell you, there is not much out there. I created a couple recipes based on other things I like to make and managed to find a couple more to actually try out, but this column almost didn’t happen just because it was difficult to find something to use.

Rambutan is a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia. The name comes from the Malay word rambut meaning ‘hair’. In Vietnam, they are called chôm chôm (meaning ‘head with raising hair’ according to a Google search) or Hairy Cherry. It grows on trees up to 80 feet tall in tropical climates like Indonesia. It is a gold ball sized fruit. The shell is red with green spikes and the fruit is a pale whitish color with a pit in the middle. The fruit has a sweet, creamy flavor to it.

Rambutan is rich in vitamins and nutrients. 3.5 ounces of fruit contain about 2 grams of fiber, about half of which is insoluble. The insoluble fiber aids in digestion and helps with regular bowel movements by bulking up your stool. The soluble fiber feeds your good gut bacteria and helps reduce inflammation in your intestines. Moreover, the soluble fiber in rambutan can dissolve in water and form a gel-like substance in your gut that helps slow down digestion and increase the absorption of nutrients. It can also lead to reduced appetite and greater feelings of fullness. At just 75 calories per 3.5 ounces, this can aid in weight loss without adding much to your calorie count.

This small fruit is also rich in Vitamin C. Not only does Vitamin C help with iron absorption, it acts as an antioxidant and protects your cells from damage. Vitamin C also helps in production of white blood cells and therefore boosts your immune system and helps fight infection. Eating just six rambutan will give you 50% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of this vitamin. Rambutan also contains a good amount of copper (about 20% RDI in four fruit), which plays a role in the proper growth and maintenance of various cells, including those of your bones, brain and heart.

To get to the flesh, make a cut all the way around the fruit about halfway. Gently squeeze each half and the fruit will pop right out. Place in water until ready to use to keep the fruit from drying out. Carefully cut in half lengthwise and remove seed. The seed is considered inedible but there is also evidence of toxicity when eaten. If eaten raw, it has narcotic and analgesic side effects and can lead to coma and death.

While there are not many recipes out there to try yourself, you can easily add this fruit to a salad or anything for added sweetness. Like all fruits, jams or smoothies are easy to make. Try a nice curry for something savory or make a tart or pie. Rambutan will only last a couple days on the counter, but up to two weeks if stored properly in the fridge. So, make room, keep cold and don’t peel them until you are ready to use them. One more thing, they are small in size so it takes a lot of them to do much of anything. I made small batches of everything so I would have enough fruit to make what I needed. Make your grocery list this weekend and meet me in the kitchen for easy recipes using this hairy fruit!