Rambutan, Lychee and Longan Comparison + How to Roast Rambutan seeds - Weird Fruit Explorer Ep. 61

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[@WeirdExplorer]

If you want to try rambutan and don't know where to get it, check out my friends over at miami fruit. They sell rare fruit online and have rambutans available! miamifruit.org/collections/fresh-and-dried/products/rambutan?aff=24 Use promo code: weirdexplorer for 5% off your order

[@hunter5822]

Slaaanesh is pleased by your sounds!!!! But they must be louder!!!!

[@karencrook8375]

Ok...this week I saw these strange little sea urchin-ish weird things called Rambutan in the imported fruit section. I was like... what the heck is that? What the heck do I do with that, and is it any good? I watch your videos,,, so I was like, ok I'll give this a whirl, why not? I knew you must have a video on Rambutan. Had I not known of your videos, I would have said what are those weird little things and just walked right on by. And missed out on awesome. Got home watched this vid and enjoyed my first Rambutan. It was delicious! I wouldn't have done it without you! Thanks for your entertaining and mind expanding videos! Also Congrats on your VICE/Munchies interview! I thought at first it was a typo when it said your day job is being a body contortionist! Then I watch the videos! Mind blown again! You have certainly a fascinating life between weird fruit exploring and body contortionist! You are not a boring human being!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thanks Karen! So glad to hear you picked those up after watching the channel! :)

[@StonedtotheBones13]

I'm sorry what. I need to find this interview

[@rachaelballard3009]

Fruit guy! I finally got the chance to buy some relatively ripe lychee. Oh my gosh, they are delicious. I bought about a pound of them and ate the whole bag with primal urgency. Can't wait to try rambutan.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Glad to hear it!

[@WhoDidIKill]

I'm 26 and just learned Lychee Berries are real and not invented by Avatar the Last Airbender

[@benjaminlingle3493]

bruh, Us Asians are triggered by this comment lmao

[@lolcatz88]

I feel sad for you that you have never had this awesome fruit! We buy a 5 kilo box every Christmas and eat the lot between our family! 😋

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Honestly considering the shit made up by avatar that's fair (platypus bear? Sky bison?).

[@fruitsyfarms5115]

😳

[@deanna.radiant]

Haa! Rambutans! One of my favorite fruits! It's the Rambutan season here and two days ago my family was invited to go to a Rambutan plantation and had a chance to eat Rambutans as much as I want. They had quite a lot of Rambutan varieties. Not just red but yellow and kinda light green Rambutans as well. This is one of those fruits I can't have enough heh.. :)

[@nesestrada142]

An exotic fruits and so delicious. If you've never tried it, you should make (at home) Rambutan juice with a touch of mango juice (no O.J),a bit of honey. It's makes a great breakfast juice. The same for the summer, just add Ice cubes and you have a refreshing summer drink..

[@airamona]

I have a rambutan tree in my yard and used to seeing fresh ones. So when I see the rambutan you held, cant help notice how old/wilted it is hehe

[@WeirdExplorer]

that one is actually pretty good for US standards. I've seen some for sale at very high prices here that are completely dried out. :/

[@gilnech9310]

airamona lucky you I only have four bags

[@alabala281]

Your channel is like a little hidden gem in youtube. You sir make people smile (and salivate).

[@WeirdExplorer]

+ala bala Thanks! Hopefully it won't be quite so hidden for long haha.

[@lakespeed]

"Case of the runs, that didnt sound right." that was hilarious

[@normacyr-babineau785]

When my cat gets like that we say "she has the friskies" lol I have learned so much through your videos. If I find a fruit I haven't tried I will look on your channel and learn about it, then try it 😊

[@WeirdExplorer]

So glad to hear it :)

[@jasonvoorheeskill]

When I was a kid, I used to burn those rambutan seeds on stove/fire until they're brown and when they made a few crack sound that means they're ready to be eaten. It's not poisonous. It's taste good.

[@WeirdExplorer]

right, as I say in the video, the rambutan seeds are edible, longan and lychee are not.

[@michaell3660]

Lucky me ! I just found this channel . LOVE IT . Your delivery is excellent, you speak clearly and with great diction . Excellent channel and content . Thanks 👍👍👏👏👏

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thank you! 😃

[@Julian-Eire]

Hey, I saw fresh rambutan for sale at Westside Market in New York City (corner or 98th and Broadway) a couple of days ago.

[@WeirdExplorer]

yup they are pretty easy to find in NYC, sadly they are usually pretty dried out unless you get lucky.

[@ben_.q]

@@WeirdExplorer I found some in Quebec, pretty good.

[@juliemcgugan1244]

I agree with you. I can’t find the words to describe a pulasan. Like a rambutan, but with extra ooomph! But I described a lychee to my parents as a child and I still feel the description stands; a lychee tastes like somebody tried to manufacture a rambutan flavour but artificially. They aren’t sweeter than the rambutan, but to me, the lychee tastes similar to rambutan like the way that artificial grape tastes like real purple grapes…not really, nothing like it, when tasting the two, but like somebody formulated artificial grape when trying to produce a grape flavour without the use of actual grape. Not bad, exactly, but not a patch on the real thing. And longans don’t taste anywhere as good. Not bad, but more ‘meh.’ I didn’t realize until I began watching your videos that pulasans weren’t rambutans! A neighbour with a tree passed me a few pulasans when I was younger and told me they were a type of rambutan. I just assumed that they were indeed unusual-looking rambutans, but larger. Mine were not as big as the pulasan in your video and were a dark red, only a little bit darker than rambutans. The rambutans from the tree in my garden weren’t as oval as the rambutan in your video. They were rounder and more juicier, like the yellow rambutan in your other video. I miss the fruit off that tree so much! I used to climb up and down it so much as a child and teenager, above three stories in height and used to stress my Mother who was on the ground screaming at me to come back down! I was a wild child!

[@juliemcgugan1244]

I am currently living in Paphos, Cyprus. The other day, I discovered a berry of some type being sold at the local fruit market. The old lady selling them was unable to tell me an English name for them and my Greek-Cypriot is even worse than her English, so I was no further forward. I got a bag of them and decided that maybe they were perhaps honey berry or haskap? They were slightly bigger and longer than blueberry, also dark blue in colour. Bit into one when I got home and although it was dark blue inside like blueberry, they certainly didn’t taste like it! Urgh! Was not nice at all! My Dad thought they were olives of some sort, but I like olives (green and black,) and they weren’t those! They didn’t have the bitter, salty quality to them like olives. But they did have a seed or pitt, like olives do. If anybody knows what these are, I’d love to find out if there is a way I’m supposed to prepare them, maybe as a sweetened jam? I’m sure the antioxidant properties of their dark flesh could be beneficial.

[@lisaheisey6168]

Damn! Now, you've got me craving corn nuts. I haven't had those in years.

[@daliacastello2608]

Finally found some lychee at a store today actually loved them. You mention the skin I was surprised at how thin it was and I liked the unique flavor and the texture was almost gelatinous

[@stickmanstudio6451]

Yes u love lychee they are great i ate five today

[@PostSpirit]

I noticed you said that rambutans have more flavor than lychees. I've had both and I do prefer lychees because of their "tropical" quality I call it.

[@WeirdExplorer]

Lately I've been craving lychees over rambutans too. They are usually sweeter, but yeah generally I find rambutans have more flavor.

[@pitufouno]

Hello, Jesse from Costa Rica, where we have over 200 species of fruits nuts and spices (not all producing..) you are welcome to visit. Rambutan seed are just ok roasted but the PULASAN seeds are excellent roasted, at least as good as peanuts. They clearly have a higher oil content and less of the "raw bean" taste of the rambutan. Rambutan are pretty good cooked in sugar water and eaten whole (cooked without peel but with the seed). Some of the fruit taste gets into the seeds and the skin on the seeds softens enough to eat. Kind of like boiled peanuts inside a cooked grape. Pulasan would be even better that way!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thanks Jesse! I hope to try pulasan seeds sometime soon.

[@patricksweetman3285]

Jesse Blenn:- what about Longan and Lychee seeds, can they be eaten roasted?

[@daliacastello2608]

Just purchased and ate some fresh rambutan the were really good size and so sweet had the lychee about three months ago and they were very sweet. The lychee seeds sprouted I am going to try to sprout the rambutan seed

[@Slampty]

Just checked this video to see if i could eat rambutan seeds and not die. Thanks

[@WeirdExplorer]

Happy to help in this very rare and specific occasion.

[@luddyaria3954]

Better if you eat cherry seed

[@livesimplifiedlife]

I like all your fruits review. Thanks for sharing.

[@thehighestself722]

I've dried Longan seeds, put them into a coffee grinder and encapsulated it. No poisoning. Very good for the skin. A facial/body scrub with ground up Longan seeds is the best skin cleanser I've ever. used. Love your videos by the way. Thank you for everything that you share. Supreme Love via a fellow a fruit hunter.

[@WeirdExplorer]

That's interesting, I've seen multiple sources saying they contain poison. You can't trust everything on the internet though.

[@deanerdaweiner3829]

only ever had one rambutan in hawaii it was SUPER delicious and i should probably get more some day

[@ladycherrytv6468]

I like all your fruits review thanks for sharing

[@expresso4thedeppresso]

My classmate used to bring bags of rambutan to school and sell it when they are in season here it usually sells alot there!

[@applegal3058]

Trust me, lychees aren't common everywhere. I bought and tasted them for the first time in my 40-year-life. Living on an isolated island in the North Atlantic makes most tropical fruits hard to find and usually expensive.

[@Eldeibi84]

Longan have a fancy coconut flesh taste, like palm tree fruit

[@george7951]

Not a big fan of longan and Rambutan, absolutely in love and still love lychee tho. I lived in their origin areas so I was able to enjoy them around the summer time, nothing taste like lychee with its honey like sweetness and floral, osthmus, almost fragrance like smell/taste. (From volatiles which I learned later in life)

[@shoaiben4118]

What about pulasan?

[@ayannawilliams2068]

I love lychee too and was kinda surprised when he didn't mention the lychee's unique floral notes, almost a subtly elegant flowery perfume-like smell and taste that can make or break the fruit for some people. I think rambutans are ok, although I find them to be mostly like grapes that you have to peel and watch out for pits while eating, better flavor, but more expensive for less fruit. I'll have to try longan if I can ever get my hands on one, lol.

[@joebaumgart1146]

The seeds were almost like a mix between almond and chestnut imo.

[@imogenmangle]

So absurd to get to the end of this nice video about fruit and see the music credit. Like damn ok Jared

[@LilFelonyOfficial]

Are you trying to be the first man to eat every fruit on earth? Cause that’s what you’re doin! Go for it lol that’d be a dope world record

[@OverlordMaggie]

Finally got to try rambutans! Saw them fresh in the store. They remind me of a mild lychee but that might be because of being in Canada. Their texture is firmer and drier than a lychee so it might be more pleasant for those who don't like the texture. The seed skin is very tightly adhered - any advice for taking it off the flesh easily and without damaging the fruit?

[@user-gr3vp8yw8d]

มีเครื่องที่คว้านเม็ดมันออก

[@marshallsprofile2489]

Over the past few years I've had each of these a few times, and I gotta say I'm not sure which plantation they came from but without fail each time the longans were imported from Hawaii they were much sweeter, and with none of that vague skunky, musky quality you get if they go a minute beyond perfectly ripe. To anyone out there who doesn't like longans the most of these three, look for the ones from Hawaii. With any luck you may get the same ones I've had!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Good point, there is a lot of variation between fruit. That sounds like a great kind that you had in Hawaii!

[@jmelande4937]

I had my first longan today and it tasted bad- sweet, but with a definite mushroom taste. Got them at a local Asian market. They were juicy, but not delicious. Over ripe perhaps?

[@WeirdExplorer]

yeah those sound like they aren't the proper ripeness. I see rotten ones for sale all the time

[@capbanana3851]

Yep longans only taste good at summer time when ripe and have a very low shelf life so they taste sour almost after a day of sitting around. Fresh ones taste like honey

[@xJ9pQw2sR5]

I don’t know where you have had Longans but if you get good ones in Asia they are super sweet and might even rival the sweetest lychees, the others that’s like rambutans but not the hairier ones with short black hairs those are supposed to be sweeter than rambutans

[@peterconway6584]

I'm eating a rambutan for the first time right now. I just KNEW Mr. Weird Fruit Explorer had to have reviewed it by now! It looks like an evil, mutant tribble (the rambutan, that is, not Mr. Weird Fruit Explorer); it tastes sorta like a grape; I can't eat it like one because of the big seed. I'm sucking on it like hard candy in order to get through the edible part.

[@meisteremm]

I love Rambutan. It has a taste that reminds me of a cross between a grape and a pear. As far as looks go, whenever I see these things I just get this visual of Animal from The Muppet Show strapped down to a gurney and getting his balls sliced off and sent off to grocery stores. I dunno if that makes any sense, I've probably been awake for too long.

[@SuperSayian929]

Ive tried longans,lychee,rambutan to my opinion i think lychee is my favourite i mean rambutans are good it has a weird taste i dont like

[@shalahrahim4000]

It's also a Caribbean island tropical fruit

[@idontevenknow4298]

i enjoy lychee but the way i would describe the taste is like an overripe grape but rambutans are v similar as well

[@simi72100]

thanks

[@JohnSchippers]

I do like rambutans, but they're hard to find in other places but Hawaii. I experienced it.

[@alicechoocolate]

I love longan and lychee! Especially cold ones. I like rambutans too, but I always seem to buy the ones which the flesh is so attached to the wood-tasting-like layer which comes off with the flesh when I bite it off. :(

[@WeirdExplorer]

+alicechoocolate yeah thats the worst. I think that may happen more when they are a little over ripe maybe?

[@DanielYusim]

+Jared Rydelek No idea. I first tried them in Costa Rica, where they were really juicy and the flesh always separated super-easily. (they were also dirt-cheap, a guy was selling giant grocery bags full of them for 2 bucks each off a cart every day) I have never had one separate from the seed well in the US, though. :/ They always take off a layer that ruins it. If you're ever in a more equatorial/tropical area, see if you can get some and if they separate more easily. For some reason, I feel like it has something to do with juiciness because the more dry the fruit, the more stuck it was and the ones in Costa Rica were so juicy, they'd squirt juice all over when you bit in.

[@amazonianbeauty5040]

Huge fan, I've been on a binge watching your videos! Your cat is adorable too, what is her name? Im also very curious about what type of performer you are! You are wonderful to watch, very down to earth and likeable! I'm headed to China town in Philadelphia this weekend, I'm hoping to find haw flakes and a few unique fruits. You inspired that! Thank you Jared!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Thanks! Glad you are enjoying them. My cats name is Lethean (named after a river in Greek mythology) and I am a contortionist and side show performer. The China town in Philly is pretty great, you'll definitely find hawflakes. Keep an eyeout for Dragon fruit and mangosteen. Happy binging: )

[@amazonianbeauty5040]

AMAZING Jared!! Im so impressed, with the name you chose for your sweet kitty to your amazing job. Thank you so much for responding to me!! I went to China Town and had so much fun!! Found Mangosteen, and my haw flakes! So good!! Thank you for the encouragement! Cheers!

[@WeirdExplorer]

amazonian beauty Nice! Glad it was a successful treasure hunt. How do you like your finds?

[@mycorner967]

I tried longan for the first time today and it tasted a lot like a muskmelon we have in California which is very similar to a cantaloupe. My dad swears that lychee tastes like licorice but I dont get that personally . rambutans are my favorite of the 3

[@patricksweetman3285]

So are Lychee and Longan seeds also edible when cooked or roasted?

[@PokemonFreak6298]

I heard of these and my first thought was "I hope that weird fruit explorer has reviewed this"

[@frankmacleod2565]

Edit: you should do a review of corn nuts.

[@ABY68193]

Have you reviewed the sugar candy grapes?

[@animefan8660]

Good video ill make sure to Like 👍

[@sashaanne703]

Just found longan for the first time today at a local Asian market (dragonfruit, too, but haven't tried that yet). Quite a tasty fruit. Wasn't quite up for getting the ginkgo nuts at the same market, though!

[@WeirdExplorer]

yeah... that's probably for the best. Ginkgo is an acquired taste.

[@sashaanne703]

Oh! Something I saw at that market that I hadn't known to be edible was banana flowers. Is that not quite weird enough (or perhaps too culinarily vegetable-ish) for you to do a video on?

[@WeirdExplorer]

+Sasha Anne Oh nice find. I'll review banana flower eventually. You're right, it's not a fruit, but I think it would be interesting since a lot of people don't realize banana plants have more edible parts.

[@neptuniumforest]

my fav is the longan

[@frankmacleod2565]

good review, but now I want corn nuts

[@madrabbitwoman]

Next time I get a chance I plan to buy a bag of frozen rambutan seeds to give them a try

[@langitbiru7871]

There is "MATOA" in Indonesia. It's one family with these fruits

[@WeirdExplorer]

I still need to try that one

[@ForeverJaz26]

Where do you find your fruits and what state or country?

[@WeirdExplorer]

ForeverJaz26 These in particular I found in NYC, which is where I live. I do travel extensively though and have made reviews in 8 countries so far! If you go to my channel and look through the playlists, I organize the reviews by country and year. Thanks!

[@ForeverJaz26]

Jared Rydelek I am visiting NYC in 2 weeks and I really want to buy some lychee and dragon fruit. Do you think that they're in season?

[@WeirdExplorer]

I'm not 100% sure, but my guess is you'll find at least one of them in Chinatown this time of year. Try going to Mulberry street on the intersection of canal. There is an outdoor vendor that has a great selection. Might also be worth trying Hong Kong Supermarket, a couple blocks from there. Happy hunting.

[@ChaparralDenizen]

I got some rambutans imported from Guatemala today. I was unimpressed with the flavor. Less taste than grapes and harder to eat. The hard seed coat comes off with the flesh unless I'm careful/lucky. I had lychee years ago and the rambutan tastes just like the lychee I remember tasting.

[@WeirdExplorer]

could have been a bad variety or not properly ripened. I see a lot of over ripe bad tasting rambutans here in NYC.

[@penelope6504]

Just ate a rambutan seed raw, because it was chewy and tasted great with the fruit. Ate 4 to be exact. Soooo will I die now? I had no idea they were poisonous. Couldn't find proper information about it either..

[@WeirdExplorer]

You'll be fine, don't worry. :) They can be eaten roasted. Eating them raw could be bad for you in large doses but I doubt it contains enough toxicity to cause much more than a stomach ache.

[@penelope6504]

Thank you! haha yes I'm fine! I didn't even get a stomach ache! :) thank you for responding

[@chrisknox8430]

Thanks for the Serbian Film flashbacks bud...

[@emilieloveskiwi]

Are the textures of all three the same? I read that rambutan are creamier? But I'm not sure how true that is.

[@WeirdExplorer]

they are all pretty similar in texture, I wouldn't say rambutan is creamier.

[@romanmarquez2156]

Online I found so many conflicting viewpoints on whether or not to eat the seeds raw... I did anyway... Just now... I ate 3 rambutans whole...

[@beezle_dubz]

What song is this?? 👀

[@mississippiraw3616]

Yea these aren't available at all where I live lol. I will have to order online

[@annefelix94]

To me Rambutan has a subtle sour taste, lychee is sweet and logan is not that sweet but tasty that it is my favorite.

[@oneninetyfourXOcom]

Lychee is my fav fruit

[@unclegeorge7845]

You guys actually got through the sound track? Wow!

[@HiverberryArts]

but WHAT is that music at the beginning??

[@WeirdExplorer]

+HollyVery Well the song I was using before, despite being a very beautiful song, was the main theme of a rather gory controversial movie, "Cannibal Holocaust". So as an inside joke (with myself mostly) I put the themes of other very controversial and gory movies in my reviews. This song is from "a serbian film" which I don't recommend anyone should actually watch.

[@HiverberryArts]

+Jared Rydelek Thank you! And oh yes, I have heard of both those movies. I know enough about them to not want to see them

[@MrAndre.]

You have probably over roasted the rambutan seed. You should have dry it first and never roast until its colour turns too dark.

[@WeirdExplorer]

hailer 9568 next time, next time :)

[@IcestormTundra]

dont know what was up with the longans i tried, but those tasted like chemicals and I was not a fan.

[@WeirdExplorer]

The seeds of longans have saponins in them, which is a type of soap. It could be that you are sensitive to that compound.... or you just had some bad ones.

[@waderutherford9083]

I brought back dried longan home and alot of people compared it to chewing tobacco

[@womenteteatete]

Dried longan are usually used in both sweet & savoury Chinese soups and drinks. I don't think you should eat it like any packaged fried fruit out there, else it'll be like chewing tobacco

[@shubhamchandra9258]

Rambutan.. sounds like a religious fruit.

[@gumpygumpy]

I’ve had canned rambutan and it tastes like stale brown sugar. I really dislike it. Really hope fresh is better

[@lukaspatton4911]

Longan taste exactly like honeydew to me nobody can cHange my mind

[@bn444]

Woah. Not used to the music. Lol

[@veganwaffle]

I’ve gotten Logan from the store and it was terrible, my parents have 3 big trees in socal and they taste 10000x times better

[@neptuniumforest]

i like the flavor of lychee but they always have a gross hard shell inside the flesh.. i think the rambutan too

[@WeirdExplorer]

The rambutans do for sure, its a gross texture.

[@alexanderstudiosMW]

Im surprised you said that your favorite was the rambutan. That ended up being my least favorite of the three 😮

[@tuna3875]

Some lychees have the best taste, if they have a sour and sweet combination.

[@russellholland2036]

looks to me that you Rambutan was not ripe. the ones I had came from Walmart in Vermont and the pits are seperated from the flesh

[@WeirdExplorer]

There are cultivars that separate easily from the seed, but most do not.

[@Magmafrost13]

I have a store near me that gets rambutans seasonally, but honestly for how expensive they are , and how similar to lychees and longans they taste, rambutans just dont seem worth it to me, at all. If they were similar in price Id buy rambutans, but not when they're costing many many times more than lychees and longans.

[@tafferine388]

Rambutan , lychee and longan all are different tasting. Especially rambutan, where do you live? Try going to a farmers market to get them cheaper.

[@Magmafrost13]

@@tafferine388 I live in Melbourne (Australia, not Florida) lol, no farmers market anywhere near here is selling them (and we cant go more than 5km from our homes right now because of the pandemic, but I dont think they're in season right now anyway), they were probably shipped down from northern Queensland (comparable distance from New York to Texas). They're never not going to be expensive here. And its not like the ones I got were particularly bad, I did my research before buying them and from what I could tell they were decently good, better than the ones in this video certainly. Im going off memory because I only tried them once and it was over a year ago, but I was definitely underwhelmed by them. Id try them again if I ever visit a tropical place where they actually grow, but outside that, not worth it IMO.

[@downunderthunder2538]

Lychee are best i grow all 3

[@tizzm949]

longan taste like a radish, I personally dont like them

[@shannonmulhall9922]

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rambutan

[@K447-k2f]

u disrespecting lychees bruh they the best

[@dimasagengprayogi464]

Longan still better, this rambutan seed skin sucks cant peel it perfectly ngl

[@kozygvrl9557]

I heard the lychee killing kids in India im scared to eat them ! Even though i wanna try them !

[@WeirdExplorer]

never heard that

[@shoaiben4118]

Yes.. i have heard about that

[@MrHKZ]

Haven't you ever said what you ate was tasty. Is it all tasty ones are just ok for you?

[@originalman6599]

lychee is just way to sweet for me, cant do it

[@WeirdExplorer]

Oh dear try the longans, they are less sweet

[@missk.1301]

Stop touchin' your hair, sweetie. Annoying. But I love how your nails are SO CLEAN!!

[@WeirdExplorer]

Miss K. I'm using my hair follicles to clean my nails.... I thought I made that clear.

[@missk.1301]

Ahh! Fruit AnD Beauty Tips....now isn't that special! You are a GEM!! ; )