At long last, we are now enjoying the fruits of our little rambutan tree. The first harvest is nothing to shout about — just a measly 20 pieces or so — but the numbers don’t matter for now. What’s important is that the tree has started bearing fruit and that the fruits are sweet and succulent, with the flesh easily separating from the seed as it belongs to the ‘Anak Sekolah’ variety. ‘Anak sekolah’ which literally means ‘student’, is technically known as R191, known for fruits that are “roundish and red in colour” with flesh that is “firm, medium sweet and not watery” (source: Department of Agriculture, Sarawak).
So how does one eat this strange- looking hairy red little fruit?
First of all, you have to get past the hairy outer shell by breaking it into two in order to get to the treasure waiting inside. You can do this by twisting the fruit (if you are strong enough) OR by making a small cut into the hairy exterior with your nail (not recommended because the sap will go under your nail and make it look dark and dirty) OR you can use a small knife (a bread knife, paring knife or, perhaps, even a fork) to do the cutting.
Once you’ve split the skin open, you can now nibble on the sweet, juicy white meat inside. But do take care not to bite into the seed that’s in the middle.
Rambutan season usually starts in July and peaks in August. The fruits are best eaten within a day or two after harvest.
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