On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 734

Ripe breadfruit is sweet and soft, even
semiliquid,andmadeintodesserts.
Lychee Lychees are subtropical Asian tree
fruits (fromLitchi chinensis) the size of a
smallplum,withadry,looseskinandalarge
seed. The edible portion is its fleshy seed
covering, or aril, which is pale white, sweet,
anddistinctivelyfloralduetothepresenceof
a number of terpenes (rose oxide, linalool,
geraniol; Gewürztraminer grapes and wine
share many of the same notes). Lychees with
small,undevelopedseedsarecalled“chickentongue” fruit and are prized because there’s
more flesh than seed. Lychees don’t improve
inflavoroncetakenfromthetree.Acommon
problemwithlycheesisabrowndiscoloration
of the flesh due to drying out or chilling
injury. They’re best held at cool room
temperatures in a loose plastic bag. When
cooked, fresh lychees sometimes develop a
pink undertone as phenolic aggregates are


broken apart and converted into anthocyanin
pigments(p.281).They’reeatenfresh,canned
in syrup, made into drinks, sauces, and
preserves, cooked briefly and served with
meats and seafood, and frozen into sorbets
and ice creams. “Lychee nuts” are the dried
fruits,nottheseeds.
Rambutans,longans,andpulasansareall
arilsofAsianfruitsinthesamefamilyasthe

lychee(theSapindaceae),andhavesimilar
qualities.
Mango Mangoes are the succulent, aromatic
fruits of an Asian tree,Mangifera indica, a
distant relative of the pistachio and cashew
trees, that has been cultivated for many
thousands of years. There are hundreds of
varieties with very different qualities,
including flavor and degrees of fibrousness
and astringency. The mango skin contains an
irritant and allergenic phenolic compound
similar to that in the cashew. Their deep