Random tropical fruit confession

Recently, rambutan were in season here. (I think they're out of season again now. I only saw a few at the market today, and the ones I saw didn't look terribly fresh.) I was reminded a couple of weeks ago that I like them, so I bought a bunch last week.

This is what rambutan look like when you buy them.

Whole rambutan

And I think I may have read too many sci-fi and fantasy books in my life because they look to me like very small monsters that might go scuttling off at any moment. Or maybe like aliens who will be offended if I pick them up. Honestly EVERY time I go to eat one of these, I have a very quick moment where I have to remind myself that it's a fruit not an animal, and that it's definitely not going to bite me.

You eat rambutan by peeling off that crazy-looking skin. The fruit is white and sweet, and you just eat it off the pit in the center. They're pretty small, so it takes some work to get a real serving, but they're definitely among the tropical fruits I enjoy when their season comes around.

Peeled rambutan, ready to eat

Rambutan pits

There are some other tropical fruits that I find funny-looking (like durian) or ridiculously complicated to eat (like mangosteen). It makes me wonder what temperate fruits are weird to people who didn't grow up with them. None of them look like aliens to me, but perhaps I just don't see it! Peaches? Raspberries? Anybody know? :)

Durian, which is not actually one
of the tropical fruits I enjoy. It's
smelly and tastes odd.
Regardless, it's funny-looking.

Mangosteen-- Once you get through
the really thick skin, each of those
little sections has its own seed that
you have to eat around.
So yummy but a lot of work!