How Do Lychees Taste? How to Recognize Lychees by Their Taste

How do lychees taste? We will tell you how to recognize lychees by their taste, mouthfeel and consistency and how you can use the taste test to find out whether a lychee is ripe, not yet ripe or already overripe.

How do lychees taste? Recognizing a ripe lychee by its taste

Use your entire mouth to consciously taste the fruit and taste the different aromas.

• You can recognize a ripe lychee by its glassy and moist mouthfeel and the rosy to strawberry-like aroma.
• The flesh of a ripe lychee has a gelatinous, extremely juicy consistency that is slightly reminiscent of that of monkfish fillet.
• The skin surrounding the fleshy seed coat feels soft, smooth and slippery when you run your tongue over it or press the fruit against your palate.
• A ripe lychee tastes intensely fruity and develops a fresh, sweet to sweet-sour aroma when chewed.
• After swallowing, a slightly bitter aftertaste remains in the mouth, reminiscent of bitter almonds.
• A light note of nutmeg is also noticeable in the finish and rounds off the sweet and sour aroma with a spicy touch.

How to recognize an unripe lychee by its taste

If you know what a ripe lychee should taste like, you will quickly notice if your lychee is still unripe.

• In the mouth, an unripe lychee feels firm and less juicy than a ripe fruit.
• Instead of the rosy freshness, the pulp exudes a biting, lime-like , sour to bitter aroma.
• The texture of an unripe lychee is tougher and less glassy than a ripe lychee.
• When chewing, the teeth penetrate less easily through the fine membrane that surrounds the seed coat.
• In addition, an unripe lychee gives itself away by its sour taste, reminiscent of an unripe apple.
• The slightly bitter note that a ripe lychee emits in the finish comes to the fore with an unripe fruit, so that a furry feeling can remain in the mouth after swallowing.

This is how you can taste whether a lychee is overripe

You can easily recognize an overripe lychee if you pay attention to the mouthfeel, consistency and taste.

• In the mouth, an overripe lychee feels wobbly and watery and develops a rather fermented, putrid aroma.
• If you move the fruit with your tongue in the mouth or press something against the palate, you will feel how the skin of the seed coat slides over the extremely soft flesh.
• You can also recognize an overripe lychee by the fact that it has lost its fleshy consistency and is no longer as pressure-resistant, plump and juicy as a ripe lychee.
• The easiest way to recognize an overripe lychee is by the taste: the flesh is no longer sweet and fruity, but tastes watery to fermented.
• If you notice a fermenting taste that’s slightly reminiscent of cider, spit the lychee out immediately.