…are in season!
They sell for around 40 cents per pound each at the market; this is apparently a good year.
Probably my favorite fruit in the world. In fact, I can’t think of a close second.
Such an alien-looking fruit. Delicious, though.
Fr007 pr0n!
Bonus trivia (via Wikipedia):
- The mangosteen is known as the “Queen of Fruits” in Asia. (The “King of Fruits” is the durian. If the king and queen ever bear children, I’ll be the first in line to eat them.)
- The exocarp (purple outer layer) of the mangosteen is rich in both nutrients and antioxidants, however, this is generally not the edible part. The inner white fruit is known as the aril and seems to contain, well, uh, delicious juices that aren’t proven to be beneficial in any way, thus proving that anything that’s really healthy for you probably doesn’t taste very good.
- “There is a story, possibly apocryphal, about Queen Victoria offering a cash reward to anyone who could deliver to her the fabled fruit (mangosteen).”
- Thailand is now the world’s largest producer of rambutans.
- Rambutan seeds are poisonous to humans.
3 replies on “Mangosteens and Rambutans”
Feasting on fresh Mangosteen is one of the best reasons to visit Thailand. The only other fruit close to it here are the delectable white nectarines behind our house, which are so perfumy and loaded with sugar, that they last but one day!
Why is it… I can get FRESH rambutans in the US, yet I cannot get mangosteens?
Are rambutans the same thing as lychees?
I’d figure you could use the outter part of the mangosteen in a fruit smoothie, if you run some blueberries and strawberries and a banana thru the blender, a little honey, a little lemon juice, it probably would make the outter part of the mangosteen palatable.
Much like the peel of an orange contains beneficial anti-oxidants like flavinoids, the mangosteen contains these things called “xanthones,” which are beneficial for health.
One of my favorite exotic fruits to eat is called a cherimoya (which for years I thought was a custard apple, and some folks confuse it with soursop). It tastes like a cross between pineapple, mango and strawberry.
The upside to globalism? You can get just about any tropical fruit or veggie here in the US. Speaking of which, this post is making me crave cherimoya now:)
I’ve never had Durian. I live with an uptight neat man, I doubt if he’d tolerate a stinky fruit in the house, no matter how tasty it is.
> Why is it… I can get FRESH rambutans in the US,
> yet I cannot get mangosteens?
The USDA prohibits importation of fresh mangosteen. (See here.)
> Are rambutans the same thing as lychees?
Nay. But the naked fruit is similar in appearance, although lychee (lychees?) are smaller.
About cherimoya, I’ve had those a couple of times but I suspect they weren’t ripe – wasn’t as tasty as I was expecting. My dad lopves them, though.