Why Canned Lychee Is A Must-Buy According To Jet Tila

You may recognize Jet Tila from Food Network's "Cutthroat Kitchen," "Iron Chef," or "Chopped." Or perhaps you've purchased one of his cookbooks, such as "101 Asian Dishes You Need to Cook Before You Die." Regardless of how you've encountered him, any brush with the chef yields valuable insight into the world of food. And this doesn't just extend to cooking, but to grocery shopping as well. In fact, there is one product you simply must-buy on your next trip to your neighborhood Asian grocery store, and it comes in a can. You might know lychees from its shining presence in a lychee martini. Or perhaps you've tried a dish of sago pudding topped with lychee. It is a tropical fruit, originally grown in China, that has a red outer shell and a milky white interior. Its taste is light and sweet, and just a bit floral. It's perfect for eating fresh or adding to various desserts. Tila can't recommend this kitchen ingredient enough, especially in its canned form.

Now, for the most part, fresh fruit is preferred over canned. However, in the case of lychee, the fresh version of the fruit is not available in most grocery stores. That's where evergreen canned lychee comes in. This tip comes straight from Tila, who praised lychee's ability to maintain its flavor and texture even as a canned good. Tila noted that his favorite uses for canned lychee include crafting various cocktails or incorporating it into a fruit salad.

The true magic of canned lychee lies in its ability to retain its original, fresh flavor for long periods of time, without compromising texture. Canned lychee fruit also has the added benefit being easier to eat than its fresh counterpart, with has a thick, red peel that can be difficult to remove, and a large pit at the center that can make snacking on the fruit rather difficult. Its canned counterpart, on the other hand, is ready to eat straight out of the can. 

Another tasty asset of canned lychee is the juice that it sits in, a syrup equally loaded with flavor. This syrup can be used in cocktails or splashed into your sparkling water for a nice, tropical touch of sweetness. So, essentially, it's a two for one deal. There are many desserts you can make with canned lychee, including a fruity take on rice pudding (use Arborio rice) or even a delicate and floral lychee and rose-flavored cake. Regardless of how you serve it, the canned fruit is sure to retain its unique flavor, and it's one canned fruit you'll definitely want to keep stocked in your kitchen.