Lychee Fruit, Half Ripe
Jul 16th, 2011, by Alex Zorach
These lychee fruit were for sale at a store in Chinatown in Philadelphia. These fruit are half-ripe, or in the process of ripening. When unripe, the fruit are green, and when fully ripe, they are a rich pinkish-red color. None of these fruits, not even the pinkish one, are fully ripe.
The lychee is an interesting fruit, unlike most other fruits. It is the only edible fruit that I know of that is from the soapberry family, a family of plants that, as the name suggests, contains many species used for making soap, but few food plants. Depending on the classification system used, maple trees are sometimes included in this family as well.
In China, lychee are sometimes used to flavor black tea.