Lychees — season, tips, and recipes in Australia
Lychees is a fruit available in Queensland during October, November, December, January, February. This page is a practical guide for home cooks: when to buy lychees, how to pick a good one, how to store it, what it goes well with, three original recipes, and detailed nutrition information.
Grown in tropical and subtropical Queensland and northern NSW. The season is short and intense. Fresh Australian lychees are a world apart from the tinned version.
How to pick a good one
Shell should be bright pink-red, not brown. Should feel firm. Browning shell doesn't mean bad fruit inside, but the fresher the shell, the better.
How to store it
Fridge in a sealed bag for up to a week. Freeze whole in their shells for a frozen treat.
Goes well with
ginger: Ginger's warmth and lychee's delicate floral sweetness create a combination that adds depth without overpowering the fruit's subtlety.
coconut: Coconut's fat carries lychee's volatile aromatic compounds and amplifies them. Used together in Southeast Asian desserts and drinks.
lime: Lime acid sharpens lychee's sweetness and makes it taste more vivid. Without acid, lychee can taste one-dimensional.
rose water: Lychee and rose water share floral aromatic compounds. The combination is used in Middle Eastern and South Asian desserts where lychee amplifies rather than competes with rose.
Recipes
Lychee & Coconut Panna Cotta
Tropical, elegant, make-ahead.
Ingredients: 12 lychees (peeled), 300ml cream, 200ml coconut cream, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp gelatine, lime zest
Method: Dissolve gelatine in 2 tbsp hot water. Heat creams with sugar until warm. Stir in gelatine and lime zest. Pour into glasses with a few lychees. Chill 4 hours.
Lychee & Mint Spritz
Non-alcoholic summer drink.
Ingredients: 8 lychees (peeled), handful mint, 1 lime (juice), soda water, ice
Method: Muddle lychees and mint. Add lime juice. Top with soda and ice. Stir.
Lychee & Ginger Sorbet
Light, fragrant, refreshing.
Ingredients: 20 lychees (peeled), 80g sugar, 100ml water, thumb ginger (grated), 1 lime (juice)
Method: Make syrup with sugar, water, ginger. Strain. Blend lychees with syrup and lime. Freeze, stirring hourly for 4 hours.
Nutrition
One cup provides 225% of your daily vitamin C. That's one of the highest vitamin C concentrations of any fruit. Good source of copper (important for heart health) and potassium. Contains oligonol, a polyphenol with antioxidant and anti-viral properties. About 125 calories per cup.