Rambutan vs. Lychee: A Comparison of the 2 Tropical Fruits

Lychee is a tropical fruit that grows on the evergreen lychee tree (Litchi chinensis), native to southern China. However, many different cultivars are grown worldwide, from the Indian subcontinent to Hawaii. Lychee fruits have a bright red, fibrous, and scaly outer shell, which you can easily peel away to reveal a soft, lightly tart fruit surrounding a single large seed. Lychees grow in clusters, with anywhere from three to 50 fruits per bunch.

You can find fresh lychees in most Asian markets and some grocery stores.

Rambutan is a tropical fruit that grows on the rambutan tree (Nephelium lappaceum), native to tropical Southeast Asia, and widely cultivated in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia. Rambutan fruits are about the size of a golf ball and grow in large clusters. Rambutan’s signature prickly hairs, which sprout from their coarse outer skins, make it easily identifiable. The edible fruit’s name is a direct nod to these flexible spiny strands: The Malay word for “hair” is “rambut.” (In Vietnam, the fruits are known as “chôm chôm,” Vietnamese for “messy hair.”)

Once peeled, the arils of the rambutan fruits resemble large peeled grapes with a similar texture and floral sweetness.

Rambutan and lychee are similar in a few key ways:

• Appearance: Rambutan and lychee are a lot harder to tell apart without their outer skins: They both feature a creamy white flesh with glossy brown seeds at the center.
• Botanical family: Rambutan and lychee are both members of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), along with the longan fruit and the horse chestnut.
• Consumption: You can eat rambutan and lychee in similar ways after peeling away their outer skin: enjoy them as a snack, as part of a fruit salad, or add them to a morning smoothie to balance the sweetness of other fruits.
• Health benefits: Both fruits are rich in antioxidants, like polyphenols, and a good source of vitamin C and potassium.

The differences between rambutan and lychee are primarily visual:

• Outer skin: While both fruits have bumpy pinkish-red skin, rambutan also has flexible, electric orange and green hairs, while lychee does not.
• Size: Lychees are about half the size of rambutans, which are a few inches in diameter—or the size of a standard golf ball.
  
• Taste: To the discerning soapberry fan, rambutan and lychee have distinct flavors and levels of sweetness: Rambutan is creamy and aromatic like dragon fruit. In contrast, lychee flesh tends to be both crisper and brighter, much like mangosteen or watermelon.

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