Ode to the lilikoi

Smooth round golden globes
Cut open dripping with juice and orange-yellow pulp
Black crunchy seeds
Sweeter than candy
Like sunshine on a summer day

My aunty has one bumper crop of lilikoi this summer. Her vines drop literally at least 20 fruit a day on the grass. It was my job to pick them up while she was on vacation, and I had to go to her yard everyday otherwise the neighborhood pets would prey on the fruit. It was like an easter egg hunt since her garden is on a small hill, tracking down the fruit and seeing where the had rolled.

I tried to make lilikoi butter mochi one day (regular butter mochi, replacing one cup water with one cup lilikoi juice). Here’s a photo. The lilikoi flavor unfortunately did not stand out very well.