Longan

Yes. You won’t find longan on lists of the top choking hazards for babies, but the fruit’s chewy, firm, and slippery consistency poses a risk, as do the seed and peel. To minimize the risk, take care to remove the fruit from its peel, remove the inner seed, and cut the flesh into small pieces. As always, make sure you create a safe eating environment and stay within an arm’s reach of baby during meals. For more information on choking, visit our section on gagging and choking and familiarize yourself with the list of common choking hazards.

No. Allergies to longan are rare, but not unheard of. People who are allergic to pollen and individuals with Oral Allergy Syndrome (also known as pollen-food allergy) may be sensitive to longan’s cousin – the lychee fruit – and potentially longan, by extension. Oral Allergy Syndrome typically results in short-lived itching, tingling, or burning in the mouth and is unlikely to result in a dangerous reaction. Fortunately, cooking the fruit can help minimize or even eliminate the reaction.

As you would when introducing any new food, start by offering a small quantity for the first few servings. If there is no adverse reaction, gradually increase the quantity over future meals.

Yes. Longan is a good source of vitamin C and other antioxidants that have been studied for their anticancer and immune-boosting benefits, suggesting some of the reasons that longan has been used widely in traditional Chinese medicine. Longan also contains some fiber, which helps aid digestion by supporting baby’s gut microbiome. Just take care to remove longan’s inner seed, which is a choking hazard and contains toxic compounds.

As with many fruits, longan is also processed into juice, dried pulp, jelly, and sweet syrup. It’s best to wait to offer any of these foods to babies—while dried longan can be minced and reconstituted to offset choking risk, all of these forms of longan are inappropriate for babies due to their high sugar content.

★Tip: How do you know when longan is ripe? Feel it—the fruit should give a little when pressed. Longans continue to ripen at room temperature. You can extend their shelf life by storing longans in a slightly open bag or container in the fridge for up to 7 days or in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 1 year.

Yes, longan has some soluble and insoluble fiber as well as prebiotic polysaccharides. Together, these qualities contribute to overall digestive health and bowel regularity. Note that pooping patterns can vary significantly from child to child. Be sure to talk to your pediatric healthcare provider if you have concerns about baby’s pooping and digestive function.

Longan is the juicy fruit of an evergreen tree with origins in South Asia and now grows in the tropics of the Americas, Africa, and Asia, where it is also known as lumyai, nhãn, and mata kuching. The last name means “cat’s eye” in Malay, which hints at the fruit’s appearance: longans are small orbs that resemble eyes once the translucent flesh is shelled of its thin, leathery casing. There are different varieties to try, each with their own distinctive flavor, but most have a musky aroma and sweet taste, with notes of almonds, melon, and honey. Some say longans taste like lychee, a tropical fruit in the same family, although they tend to be sweeter without as much tang.

For adults, longans are typically eaten fresh out of hand by peeling the shell and sucking the flesh from the inedible seed. Minced or chopped longan fruit makes a delicious addition when sprinkled onto or stirred into savory and sweet warm cereals, coconut rice, smoothies, and chia puddings. Or take a cue from cheng tng, a broth of barley, mushrooms, and dried longan enjoyed in Singapore, and use fresh or dried longan to add a sweet note to savory dishes.