Common Name: Longan
Vernacular Name: Lungan, Dragon's eye
Botanical Name: Dimocarpus longan
Specimens From: Thailand
Longan, a native fruit to Southern China, is now grown in several Asian countries with Thailand leading the way and also in a few tropical states of the USA. The name, longan, is a Cantonese word (a dialect of Chinese) meaning "Dragon's eye". It is so called because, the translucent white flesh covering the black shiny seed resemblance the eyeball of an oriental dragon.
There are several varieties of longan. Some with very thin, tasteless flesh and hence, unpopular but this improved variety is meaty with thick and musky sweet flesh. Needless to say, it is very popular in South-east Asia, overtaken its bigger cousin (same family), the lychee.
Longan can be additive. The more you eat, the more you want! Just use both your thumb's nail to press the thin shell open. It is sweet and soft but not as juicy as lychee. It is great for snacking when being a couch potato.
Eating longan is believed to reduce fatigue, improve nervous system, improve stomach functioning, treatment for insomnia and several other claims.
For those who prefer it peel for the easy way out, canned longans in heavy syrup can be easily found in Asia.
And for the dried longan, known as "guiyuan" in Chinese Mandarin. The flesh will turn dark brown to black and will shrink, sticking to the seed. It is very popular in Asian's cooking especially in herbal soups and sweet desserts. But you can eat it raw too and it is sticky, chewy and sweet.
The dried longan can also be used for tea or plain drink. It is better to slice apart the dried flesh and discard the seeds, so as to let it fully absorb into the drink.
On its own with only hot water, it may not be sweet enough. Add sugar, red dates, goji berries, tea or any combinations of them to suit your taste. The photo shown is a glass of dried longan drink with nothing added.Fruit: Longan; Dimocarpus longan; Sapindaceae.
Other fruits in the same family: Fijian Longan, Lychee, Pulasan, Rambutan.
Click here to view other fruits in thumbnail images
Click here to have a say in your favourite fruits
31 comments:
hi Fruity
I haven't heard of this fruit before....sounds tasty....
I have tried lychees......so I will see if I can find these in a can .. :)
I LOVE longans and wish I could get them here!
They remind me of grapes in the first photo. Do the grow on a vine or in a tree?
I have never seen any logans in Sweden. However, I found them described on a Swedish website: A Chinese fruit, available canned, deseeded and peeled.
I find your blog very interesting, because I learn new things all the time.
Nice one as usual fruity :-)
haven't heard/seen this before...will explore it now :-)
Looks soooo tasty - would have no problem being additive :-)
Hi Kim:
You are finally here:) Welome aboard! In my opinion, I prefer this than lychee. They do grow cultivate longan in some parts of your cuntry. Should not be a problem finding it, just wait for the right season
Hi Dana:
That means you had tried it before and most people lik it somehow
Hi KML:
Haha, if only grapes come in those colors. They grow in tree, some small and some tall trees.
Hi Karin:
Oh, so you never had the chance to laying your hands on these. It's pretty nice, worth it! Glad that this blog does provide you some useful info, thanks
Hi Sirisha:
Northern India grew these tasty fruit but mostly in the wild
Hi Rennyba:
I bet you would be too if you had tried it, yummy!
hi Fruity
I will look out for them.. :)
the award looks very nice on your site against the green....
have a great day :)
i love longans!
proof: http://www.pakupaku.info/blog/longan.jpg
xo
kittee
Whoa - I have never even seen or heard of this fruit before! Very cool.
At first glance they look like a potato, but the insides do look like an eye. I don't know if I would try them or not, the eye thing kind of creeps me out.
Hi Fruity/Fruitspecies,
Another interesting post! When you get the chance, please stop by my blog, http://cookingwithcorey.blogspot.com, to pick up your "Awesome Guy Blogger" award.
Congrats! And thanks for being my pal on BlogCatalog & Spicypage!
-C
This is one of my favorite fruits. Looks tasty!
Hi Kim: The contrast looks not too bad. Thanks for the award
Hi Kittee:
Haha, can't beat them, join them...
Hi Tee:
Welcome aboard. Guess your place don't sell it. It is really nice
Hi Tammy:
Well, maybe a small potato. Don't be deceived by its look, it tastes even better than grapes, at least to me.
Hi CP:
Thanks for the award. Will DHL to get it :)
Hi Neoauteur:
Welcome aboard. My favorite too.. As good as it looks
OOOH, I want to taste these in both soups and desserts!!!
Hugs, JJ
I love longans! Wow, first time visiting your blog...and see so many fruits. Reminded me of home.
Thanks for visiting my blog :)
Im not a fan of lychee I wonder how much this differs in taste
Hi JJ:
Have you tried it before? It is very nice, yummy!
Hi Tigerfish:
Welcome aboard and hope you enjoy your stay here. Tigerfish reminds me of an aquarium fish, isn't it? Cheers from Fruity
Hi Shuckle:
Welocme aboard too. Longan is just as sweet but slightly different kind of sweetness and not as juicy as lychee. It won't drip and mess up the floor. cheers from Fruity
I have eaten these.. but the way they look does creep me out and when I eat them, I have to turn my brain off and not think about how they look and only concentrate on the taste.
hi Fruity! I really love eating longans! but sometimes it hurts the mouth when it's a little small.
Hi shirley:
Just don't think about it. I'm used to it..:)
Hi morinn:
Why would it hurts? Small isn't easier to eat?
Longan is great. Malaysia have another variety? species? called Mata Kucing (Cat's eye). It is smaller and less fleshy. May need to google that one. ;)
To the chinese, longan is heaty too. :D But I love the fruit.
Yes, those thin skin cultivars. Of coz, the thicker ones are better :)
Hello Dear , Today i looked at my Nespula fruit tree and i told my daughter that i would like to write about jam and cakes with nespula fruit but we cant find a name of this fruit on English language!!Her is a photo of nespula tree and if you recognize a tree or fruit please help me with name for it!!Thanks!!The Latin name for this fruit is eriobotrya japonica!!!You can see a picture of this fruit on my blog http://stanka.bravejournal.com
Hey all,
Dragon Herbs in Santa Monica, California has some REALLY great Longan!
-Abe
I bought some dragon eyes because i wanted to see how they were... TRUST ME THERE GROSS. i threw up from them and so did my family. AND the smell of them is just horrible it smells like sperm its gross
Longan (the Chinese pronounce it somewhat like Lone-gyan) is a very different tasting fruit for the western pallet! I love it! Then again, I very much love trying different foods and there is rarely something that I do not like. Initially, it tasted like a weird, old pear (I know, sounds gross), but after I chewed it and swallowed it I had this sudden aftertaste of sweet, syrup tasting like roasted vanilla! I ate more and more and eventually I didn't have the impresssion of it tasting weird anymore. It tasted sweet and syrupy. I guess it just took quite a few bites to get used to it. I ate about 1 and a half pounds of longans over three days. They were delicious. I would like to grow it.
Well I am happy no about the fruit , its looking too cute .
suman
------------
Free Satellite TV
Dear fruit enthusiasts,
For those of you that are interested in rare tropical species, I would like to recommend you a terrific website that commercializes best quality, very fresh seeds:
www.rarepalmseeds.com
As the name suggests, they are focused on providing the most extraordinary palms from around the world, but in the last few years they have been extending (among other genuses) to agaves, conifers, cycads, musas, and recently they had their debut with tropical fruits and vegetables.
Right now, they have available a collection of some of the most delectable and hard to come by species and varieties from South-East Asia. The list is too long to post here but, among others, they offer rare Durio (dulcis, graveolens, oxleyanus, testudinarum, kutejensis, etc), Artocarpus (anisophylla, sarawakensis, etc) rambutan (Nephelium rambutan-ake varieties black, green, yellow, etc), Pometia pinnata (crystal fruit) , Mangifera (mango pajang, quadrifida, odorata, etc), Mangostana (mangosteen supreme, a huge variety in size), Baccaurea, rambai, etc.
Take a look at this website, I am sure you will be impressed!
love the fruits so much...but it make me cough everytimes i took it...and i dont know why...
try looking for isau fruit and kakus fruits...almost similar but not the same
Post a Comment