Longan In Syrup 565g
Dimocarpus
longan, commonly known as the longan (/ˈlɒŋɡən/), is a tropical tree
species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical
members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which
the lychee and rambutan also belong. The fruit of the
longan is similar to that of the lychee, but less aromatic in taste.[3] It
is native to tropical Asia and China.[4]
The
longan (from Cantonese lùhng-ngáahn 龍眼,
literally
'dragon eye'), is so named because it resembles an eyeball when its fruit is
shelled (the black seed shows through the translucent flesh like a pupil/iris).
The seed is small, round and hard, and of an enamel-like, lacquered black. The
fully ripened, freshly harvested fruit has a bark-like shell, thin, and firm,
making the fruit easy to peel by squeezing the pulp out as if one were
"cracking" a sunflower seed. When the shell has more moisture content
and is more tender, the fruit becomes less convenient to shell. The fruit
is sweet, juicy, and succulent in superior agricultural varieties. The seed and
the peel are not consumed. Apart from being eaten raw like other fruits, longan
fruit is also often used in Asian soups, snacks, desserts,
and sweet-and-sour foods, either fresh or dried, and sometimes
preserved and canned in syrup. The taste is different from lychees; while
longan has a drier sweetness similar to dates, lychees are often messily juicy
with a more tropical, grape-like sour sweetness.
