TASTE OF MINDANAO: RAMBUTAN

I visited Sr. Dilla and Sr. Gloria on the day of Mama Mary's feast day and they offered to me the red rambutan!

I was "shy" at first, but since I remembered I just blogged about the durian, I thought it was also timely to introduce the Rambutan.

So, I couldn't help but take the picture of the vibrant rambutan. I guess it is the color of this fruit that makes me feel this fruit is "vibrant".

I took a few fruits just so I also have pictures of the opened Rambutan.

Unlike the durian, the rambutan spikes are soft and not prickly, so it is easy to open with the fingers.

It isn't so messy although slightly sticky and a bit juicy.

I like this fruit, which is a relative of the longan and the lychees.

I feel it is cool to the palate and just a bit sweet, so it feels refreshing to eat this fruit.

This is what I googled about RAMBUTAN! from Wikipedia.

The rambutan ( /ræmˈbuːtən/; taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the familySapindaceae. The fruit produced by the tree is also known as "rambutan." The name rambutan is derived from the Malay wordrambutan, meaning "hairy": rambut the Malay word for "hair", a reference to the numerous hairy protuberances of the fruit, together with the noun-building suffix -an.  Rambutan trees also found growing naturally in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown.^[3] It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the lychee, longan, and mamoncillo.

From: http://www.cookingmail.com/rambutan/

Health Benefits of Rambutan

Rambutan fruit contains carbohydrate, protein, fat, phosphorus, iron, calcium and vitamin C. Skin tanin and fruits contain saponin. The seeds contain fat and polifenol. The leaves contain tannin and saponin. Skin stem contains tannin, saponin, flavonida, pectic substances, and iron.

There are usually a light brown seeds are high in some Fats and oils (mainly oleic acid and eicosanoic acid) valuable to industry, and is used in cooking and the manufacture of soap. Rambutans roots, bark, and leaves have various uses in the production of dyes and drugs.

I am actually wondering if this fruit is really common to other areas in the Philippines or in other parts of the world. 

Does this fruit have any other name in the English language?

I know it is seen in Zamboanga City (not necessarily very common) but I don't think it is as commonly available in Cebu.

Anyway, I hope that at one time in your life, you can also try the RAMBUTAN.