Driving down the roads (some barely deserve to be in the “road” category) in Costa
Rica you inevitably pass produce vendors in small shanties selling their sandias (watermelons), pipas frias (cold coconut water), naranjas (oranges), limons (lemons) or what have you. I rarely stop unless forced by hunger; and not because I don’t love street produce (I happen to love all street anything) but more so because there tend to be a few vendors within feet of each other all selling the exact same items and I feel guilty spending money at one over another. Therefore in Costa Rica I tend to buy produce at outdoor markets or at the super Mercado. But today as I was driving I happened upon a man selling fruit out of the back of his truck in the town of Playas del Coco. As I had just finished a grocery run I was definitely not in the market (pun intended) for any more fruits or vegetables, but a pile of red fruit caught my eye and I yelled at my boyfriend to stop the car. As I approached the truck filled with cantaloupe and this spiky red fruit, I was running through a mental list of what this random red unknown could be. Nothing came to mind. For the normal person this is completely acceptable but for someone who has a culinary degree and spends majority of their day pondering what to eat or cook next- this was just not cutting it. How had I never seen this before? Not even on some Anthony Bourdain-esque food show. So I ask the guy, “que es esto?” (the extent of my Spanish knowledge). And he grabs one, twists and rips the top off, revealing a white opaque flesh inside. “Lychee nut” he says. Now I have eaten and cooked with the lychee fruit, added it to salads, enjoyed many a martini made with their nectar and sampled lychee sake but in all that time it was either out of a bottle, a can, or a jar. I was always under the assumption that the lychee fruit (called a nut by the seller but nut allergists rejoice, it is not at all related to nuts) looked somewhat how it looked in a can when in nature. To be honest, I’d really never thought a moment past, hmm this tastes good when it comes to lychees so for all you people out their wondering a) what does a lychee fruit look like in nature and b) does its spiky exterior make for difficult eating. Here is a picture to answer question A and question B is answered by my boyfriend driving and eating them (something he rarely does; he thinks eating in cars is equivalent to eating on the toilet). Super easy to rip in half and pop the sweet flesh in your mouth. Avoid eating or swallowing the pit and you will be in lychee heaven. And for all you health freaks- the lychee nut is only 125 calories per cup, has more antioxidant Vitamin C than oranges or lemons and is filled with potassium and fiber. If you ever find them NOT in a can, jar or bottle, eat them! Worth the pull-over.
Rica you inevitably pass produce vendors in small shanties selling their sandias (watermelons), pipas frias (cold coconut water), naranjas (oranges), limons (lemons) or what have you. I rarely stop unless forced by hunger; and not because I don’t love street produce (I happen to love all street anything) but more so because there tend to be a few vendors within feet of each other all selling the exact same items and I feel guilty spending money at one over another. Therefore in Costa Rica I tend to buy produce at outdoor markets or at the super Mercado. But today as I was driving I happened upon a man selling fruit out of the back of his truck in the town of Playas del Coco. As I had just finished a grocery run I was definitely not in the market (pun intended) for any more fruits or vegetables, but a pile of red fruit caught my eye and I yelled at my boyfriend to stop the car. As I approached the truck filled with cantaloupe and this spiky red fruit, I was running through a mental list of what this random red unknown could be. Nothing came to mind. For the normal person this is completely acceptable but for someone who has a culinary degree and spends majority of their day pondering what to eat or cook next- this was just not cutting it. How had I never seen this before? Not even on some Anthony Bourdain-esque food show. So I ask the guy, “que es esto?” (the extent of my Spanish knowledge). And he grabs one, twists and rips the top off, revealing a white opaque flesh inside. “Lychee nut” he says. Now I have eaten and cooked with the lychee fruit, added it to salads, enjoyed many a martini made with their nectar and sampled lychee sake but in all that time it was either out of a bottle, a can, or a jar. I was always under the assumption that the lychee fruit (called a nut by the seller but nut allergists rejoice, it is not at all related to nuts) looked somewhat how it looked in a can when in nature. To be honest, I’d really never thought a moment past, hmm this tastes good when it comes to lychees so for all you people out their wondering a) what does a lychee fruit look like in nature and b) does its spiky exterior make for difficult eating. Here is a picture to answer question A and question B is answered by my boyfriend driving and eating them (something he rarely does; he thinks eating in cars is equivalent to eating on the toilet). Super easy to rip in half and pop the sweet flesh in your mouth. Avoid eating or swallowing the pit and you will be in lychee heaven. And for all you health freaks- the lychee nut is only 125 calories per cup, has more antioxidant Vitamin C than oranges or lemons and is filled with potassium and fiber. If you ever find them NOT in a can, jar or bottle, eat them! Worth the pull-over.
PS Did you know hearts of palm actually come from the inside of young palm trees? Good to know if you’re stuck on a deserted island.
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