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A Hairy Fruit: Rambutan

A Hairy Fruit: Rambutan

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The words “Hairy Fruit” may not sound very appetizing, but I assure you this Hairy Fruit is quite delicious! The Hairy Fruit I’m talking about is Rambutan.

Rambutans look like they are lychees with a head full of hair.  Literally, this fruit’s name even means hair! “Rambut” in Indonesian and Malay, where this fruit is native to, actually means “hair”.

Rambutan: A Very Hairy Fruit


These cool looking fruits not only look like fun times, but they also taste like fun times.  They taste very similar to lychee and that makes total sense as it is scientifically closely related to lychees.  If you haven’t tried either, I would suggest you do so soon!

Rambutan
A Single Rambutan


Rambutan Health Benefits

Why should you eat this hairy fruit? Besides the fact that they’re sweet and yummy, they’re also quite nutritious, containing many vitamins and minerals for your body.

Rambutans are rich in vitamin C – eating just 5 to 6 of these babies, and you will hit 50% of your daily vitamin C requirements.

They’re also pretty high in copper which is good for your heart, brain and bones! Eating about 4 rambutans, and you will hit about 20% of your daily copper requirements!

Besides vitamin C and Copper, Rambutans also got fiber, manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium and more.

So as mentioned – they’re a yummy and healthy fruit.

Hairy Rambutan
Hairy Rambutan

How do you eat Rambutans?

Well, very easy… sort of.  First and foremost, don’t just bite in to it.  

Take a knife and cut through the hairy skin layer of the Rambutan. You can cut through a circular pattern all the way around the fruit, but normally I just go through half way, and then pop off the top so that it looks like this:

Cut Opened Rambutan
Cut Opened Rambutan


Then, you can take out the “meat” of the Rambutan and eat it.  However, be careful! There is a single large seed in the middle of the fruit, so be sure not to swallow it!

Rambutan
More Rambutans

Where can I find Rambutans?

Well, there are two answers:  

Look for it in your nearest Asian super market!!  It’s not a guarantee that they will all sell it, but you are most likely to find them in Chinese super markets or if there is one near you an Indonesian or Malaysian super market.

Or if all else fails, you can try Amazon! Crazy that they have almost everything now…

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Sunday 10th of March 2013

[...] A Very Hairy Fruit: Rambutan (ohsnapletseat.com) [...]

A Very Hairy Fruit: Rambutan « mindsome

Friday 14th of December 2012

[...] A Very Hairy Fruit: Rambutan | Oh Snap! Let’s Eat!. [...]

F'n Dave

Wednesday 7th of November 2012

Nice! I love these! I had some in Hawaii once and the fruit near the seed had an almost electrical tingly taste. Nice review/pics!

Tina T.

Wednesday 7th of November 2012

Thanks! This was the first time I had them! I really like them but I think I"m just way too lazy to have them as often as I'd like haha

Tina T.

Monday 15th of October 2012

Reblogged this on mindsome and commented: Just in case you haven't moved with us over to Oh Snap! Let's Eat! yet.... here's our most recent post! Make sure you subscribe to Oh Snap! Let's Eat! so you don't miss out on our posts!

RAN

Monday 15th of October 2012

More exotic varieties of this fruit are available here in the Philippines.

Tina T.

Monday 15th of October 2012

That is so fun! I only saw this type around here. I live in Atlanta, Georgia in the US so it's a little harder to find these types of fruits than in Asian.