It’s the season of lychees, summer’s most refreshing and delicious fruit. The small tropical fruit that is reminiscent of a combination of strawberry, pear, and watermelon is juicy and sweet, almost like nature’s readymade dessert. The sad thing is that lychee season doesn’t last long so we must make the most of it. The luscious fruit can be consumed in a variety of interesting ways. Here we give you five simple ideas to enjoy this nature’s limited-time bounty in the best possible way.

Lychee cooler

Lychees make for great drinks. You can deseed the fruit and grind the pulp into a smooth paste and use it as a base for many cocktails and mocktails. A really easy drink recipe is to combine lychee juice (you can blend the pulp with water for this) with some lime juice, shredded ginger, and soda. Pour this mixture in a tall glass filled with ice, garnish with a sprig of mint and enjoy.

Lychee lassi

If you want a slightly denser or filling drink with lychees, look no further than this lychee lassi recipe. It’s delicious and will keep you full for a few hours. Take one cup of fresh lychees and mix it with a cup of yogurt. Pour in a cup of regular water or coconut water depending on your preference. Add one fourth teaspoon of grated ginger, three teaspoons of sugar, and one third teaspoon of salt. Blend all the ingredients along with six ice cubes in a blender till you get a smooth, creamy paste. Pour into a glass, decorate the rim with a slice of pineapple or watermelon, and enjoy.

Filled treats

Gently deseed the lychees without breaking open the fruit. You can make a small cut at the top or bottom and push the seed out. Once that is done, fill the lychee with cream or ice cream of your choice. Garnish with crushed dried fruits like almonds and walnuts and you have a delicious treat ready. You can also fill the lychees with pecans and macadamia nuts if you prefer a slightly healthier version of the treat. You can also enjoy this like a dessert.

Fruit cocktail

A bowl of refreshing summer fruits is a great thing to indulge in during the day. Not only does it look nice and appetizing, it’s also incredible to keep you hydrated and satiated. Mix two cups of fresh, peeled lychees with one cup cut papaya, two cups of fresh pineapple, one cup seedless grapes, halved, and one fourth cup shredded coconut. Refrigerate for an hour to allow the flavors to blend and serve. This recipe will make for six small servings. Garnish with coconut and mint.

Easy breezy ice cream

This recipe needs just three ingredients and you don’t need any special equipment for it either. A great hack if you want a quick treat is pouring lychee juice over store-bought vanilla ice cream but if you have a few minutes to spare then we recommend you make this delicious recipe to get the best out of lychee season. Blend two cups of lychees with a cup of cream and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and freeze for four hours. Take it out and give it another blitz in the blender and refreeze for another four hours before serving.