Choose fruit with skin that is pink or red.
Once picked, the lychee does not continue to ripen.
Fresh fruit wrapped in plastic can be kept in a refrigerator for five to seven days and may be kept at room temperature for two or three days.
Lychees can be frozen for up to six months or dried within their shells.
The lychee (Litchi chinensis) is a subtropical fruit. It is oval to round in shape and about the size of a walnut. Its thin, red bumpy skin is easily peeled to reveal a white, juicy, translucent ball of firm jelly-like flesh that surrounds a shiny brown seed.
Lychees are berries and are produced on tropical evergreen trees. The trees are attractive with shiny, leathery green leaves and long sprays of green, white or yellow flowers. After a few months, the sprays of flowers become bunches of fruit.
Once ripe, the bunches of fruit are harvested by hand.
After harvest, fruit are graded and packed, ready for delivery.
Australian Lychee Growers Association — representing Australian lychee growers