An outlandish fruit with a red bumpy peel is not familiar to everyone. The Chinese people gave him the name "dragon's eye". He is known to the world as the lychee. It is worth getting acquainted with this berry at least in the photo for many reasons. In addition to the unusual appearance, wonderful taste and aroma, lychee juice perfectly tones, has beneficial properties, and is rich in vitamins.
What is lychee
Presumably, China is considered the birthplace of the fruit, because the first mentions come from there. Then the benefits of the plant were known everywhere, and it spread throughout the world. Chinese lychee is a tropical tree of the Sapindaceae family. It can grow in Asia, America, Africa, Australia. The names are different: litchi, lichi. It would be easier and clearer to call a fruit or tree "Chinese plum". The similarity with the latter is noticeable in taste.
The fruit is similar to an egg, the same oval. The size is about 3.5 cm. The top of the fruit is covered with a dense peel. The pulp is jelly-like, white or cream in color. Large seed inside. The fruit is easy to peel, the taste is sweet and sour. To feel the delicate taste of Chinese berries, you should try fresh. It is convenient that it is stored for a long time without losing taste and healing properties.
How long is lychee kept
As for storage, the dragon eye is capricious: at home, it will look normal for several days, after which it can quickly deteriorate. Fruits are recommended to be picked and consumed on the same day, until they have lost their useful qualities. Products intended for export are provided with special conditions: from 0 to 1 degree. Only then the shelf life of the lychee will be 45 days, thanks to which they have time to breed around the world.
Preservation of an attractive appearance mostly depends on air humidity (90-95%) and ventilation of the premises. Other conditions are harmful, the fruit quickly becomes soft, rots. To avoid this, suppliers resort to processing fruits with various substances. Perforated polyethylene packages cope with high-quality storage.
How to store litchi at home
The average room temperature is about 20 degrees, the humidity is about 60%. How to store litchi at home in an ordinary apartment? Like other fruits, but it will be possible to do this for no more than 10 days. It is worth monitoring the condition of the berries: they may begin to darken, crack or dry. To prevent this from happening ahead of time, you need to carefully choose the fruits when buying. The good condition of the product is indicated by the safety of the shell: the red color of the peel, the absence of damage, elasticity. Brown means the product has been in the store for too long.
Where to store litchi
The naughty Chinese fruits won't wait long for you to use them as food. They deteriorate quickly, so you need to immediately decide what you will do with them:
- If you plan to eat fruits within a couple of days, then you can just leave them in the room, choosing a cool place.
- If you have to wait for guests, entrust the storage of litchi to the refrigerator.
- Litchi canned or dried (for desserts) will stand for several months.
Is it possible to store lychee in the refrigerator
It is best to use dragon eyes immediately after purchase. If there is a need to postpone this moment, it is best to store the lychee in the refrigerator. On the bottom shelf, fruits can lie for about two weeks. However, this can affect the taste: sweetness begins to disappear. If you need to keep the fruits for a long time, it is recommended to freeze them, after peeling them. This condition allows you to keep a valuable product up to 3 months. In addition, at home, fruits can be salted (a salted product has an unusual taste), canned, dried.
