Feb. 22, 2012 - Issue #853: Folkways
Provenance
Six things about lychee
They're little and delicious
Chinese records dated to 2000 BCE make reference to lychee fruit. In the 1st century AD, a special courier service featuring "fast horses" rushed fresh fruit from Guangdong province where it grew wild to the Imperial Court. In the 8th century, Lychee was the favoured fruit of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's favourite concubine Yang Yuhuan, so the emperor brought it in at great expense.
Sounds crazy
Lychee is sold fresh, canned and dried. Dried lychee have the rind still on them and shrink and darken as they harden. These dried lychees are sold as "lychee nuts," even if they aren't actually nuts.
Seeds of doubt
The seed of a lychee fruit is typically large and is not edible. Some variants of the plant have a much smaller seed—known as a "chicken tongue"—and, because these variants have much more edible flesh, command a higher price.
Good for Hulkamaniacs
Lychee fruit contains a high amount of vitamin C. On average, only nine of the small fruits would be required to reach an adult's recommended intake of the vitamin.
TCM is A-OK
In traditional Chinese medicine, lychee is classified as a "dry fire" food. It can be used to treat "cold" symptoms such as dizziness, weakness and low oxygen level in the blood.
How'd they make love? Carefully.
You ever notice how a lychee kinda looks like a strawberry mated with a porcupine? vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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