It's late summer, so fruits native to Southeast Asia (where it's always this hot) are maturing faster than you can say "rambutan."
At Clemons Produce, where fruits and vegetables share space with Amish-made meats and dairy, you'll find longan this week for $2.99 per pound.
Longan are tiny pearls of sweet, translucent flesh with a dark pit in the middle – they're from the same family as rambutan and lychee, but much easier to peel and eat.
A couple of words of advice that also apply to the other fruits in this exotic family: Don't take them off the branch until you're ready to eat them. These guys are highly perishable and will last longer if they're still getting nutrients from their branch as long as possible. That being said, they still don't last longer than two or three days, so don't buy in bulk, unless you plan on mainlining them, which would totally be OK too.
Clemons Produce
3325 Curry Ford Road
407-897-1413
