Lychee Time

Lychee is a a tropical fruit tree native to China and now cultivated in many parts of the world. The lychee has a history of cultivation going back as far as 2000 BC according to records in China. 

There are many stories of the fruit's use as a delicacy in the Chinese Imperial Court. In the 1st century, fresh lychees were in such demand at the Imperial Court, that a special courier service with fast horses would bring the fresh fruit. It was first described and introduced to the west in 1782.

The fresh fruit has a delicate, whitish pulp with a perfume flavour that is lost in canning, so the fruit is mostly eaten fresh. Lychees are eaten in many different dessert dishes.

Here is a recipe of the Lychee Cream Puree:



Ingredients:

# 2 tsp powdered gelatin 
# 1/3 cup milk 
# 3/4 cup sugar 
# 2 cups heavy cream 
# 40 pieces fresh lychees 



Method: 


1. Mix the gelatin powder with the milk. Bring the sugar and the heavy cream to a boil, and pour over the milk mixture. Let the mixture cool.


2. Peel of the lychees and take out the hard seeds and then crush them in a blender until smooth.


3. Add the lychee purée to the milk mixture and pour into serving cups or dishes. 


4. Places the cups in the refrigerator until they have set, 3 hours or overnight. Garnish the puree with some fresh lychees; Serve 

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