Rambutan

The fruit of the Rambutan (ngaw) tree is usually bright red though there are also orange and yellow varieties. Rambut means hair in IndoMalay and the fruit could be described as a golf-ball sized red fruit covered in green Velcro fibers.

Breaking open the skin reveals a fleshy translucent or whitish fruit containing a large seed. The fruit is sweet with a mildly acidic flavor.

The best Rambutan are said to come from Surat Thani province where they were first planted in 1926.

Rambutan is easily canned and thus available throughout the world in a sweet syrup.