Unless you ’ve traveled through Asia , there ’s a in force chance you ’ve never laid heart on , or even heard of , the mangosteen . The purple fruit sports a loggerheaded rind that some people find difficult to penetrate , but the creamy pulp inside is apparently oh - so - worth it . That ’s believably why it ’s ordinarily bonk as the " Queen of Fruit . "
" Mangosteens are easily my pet yield of all meter ! " Jessica Randhawa , chief chef and recipe developer forThe Forked Spoonsays via email . She and her married man first encountered Garcinia mangostana while trek around Thailand a tenner ago . " The savor of the white fruit inside the thick purple skin is improbably rich , " she recall . " We end up eating a lot of mangosteen that day and every meter we arrive across them thereafter during our travels . "
Indeed , the mangosteen likely taste like nothing you ’ve ever sampled before . " The flavor is say to be clean and citrusy , sweet with a slight moroseness , " emailsChristian Miller , DPM , an extension agent with the University of Florida ’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science . " Others have described it as tasting like a compounding of strawberry , Prunus persica and vanilla with the texture of alycheebut not as firm . "
Where the Mangosteen Is Grown
Mangosteens ( Garcinia mangostana)are mature almost exclusively in Southeast Asia , as they ’re extremely picky about climate and growing conditions . The tropic yield tree develop slowly and is easily damaged when temps dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit ( 4.4 degrees Celsius ) , which is why most efforts to bring forth it alfresco of Asia are unsuccessful .
" Mangosteen is notoriously unmanageable to mature , " say Miller . " Mangosteen tree grow good in soils that are well drained , slightly acidic and have slew of constituent cloth . untested trees are sensitive to unmediated sunlight and originate tardily . They are most often sickly in appearance , developing cholorisis ( yellowing ) and necrosis ( browning ) of the leaves and frequently death of the plant . Tree roots are also sensitive to wind stress and excessive salts from inorganic fertilizers . "
As a result , the Brobdingnagian majority of mangosteens are produce where the mood is ideal , although Miller notes that pocket-size - exfoliation production can be found in other tropical locations like Cuba , Jamaica , Panama , Honduras and Costa Rica .
Health Benefits of Mangosteens
While the taste is novel , the real magic of a mangosteen lie in its purported benefit . The yield contains important levels of atomic number 20 andVitamin C , as well as naturally occurring organic compounds calledxanthones , which Miller notes have anti - sensitized and anti - seditious properties . " Traditional cultures also use the rind to cure diarrhea , make soap and shampoo , and the tree ’s surd wood is suitable as baseball bat , " he add up .
To escort , inquiry has n’t fully validated the title that eating Garcinia mangostana can boil down inflammation in the great unwashed witharthritis . But eating the fruit certainly does n’t do any harm either , so people with body inflammation may wish to give it a endeavour .
A Beautiful, Once-Banned Treat
That ’s allow they can get their hand on the fruit , as mangosteen can be unmanageable to feel in fresh form in the U.S. Until 2007 , refreshing mangosteenwas banned in the U.S.,because of awe that fresh fruits could harbour the highly destructiveAsian yield fly sheet .
While it ’s no longer blackball in the U.S. , it ’s still not something you find at your local grocery . Asiatic food for thought markets or turgid husbandman marker that carry a divers selection of fruits are the most likely places to carry fresh mangosteen . Today , mangosteen tree grown in Asia has to be irradiated to rid the fruit of Asiatic yield flies before it ’s imported to the U.S. This extra step bring to a gamy toll tag . If you have no luck finding it fresh , look for it in tin , preserved or potable variant .
