Mangosteen Fruit

Another fruity post!  I  know, I know.  We've gone completely fruity!  But how could I resist?  The  tropical mangosteen is in season now!  We've seen heaps and heaps of these ball shaped purple fruit with its cute green hat everywhere recently.  This small and humble looking fruit hides a most delicious taste sensation inside, delicate white juicy flesh, lusciously sweet and tangy, reminiscent of the flavors of peach, pineapple and lychee.  Taste buds say 'Wow!'

Queen Victoria at her Diamond Jubilee, 1897

This tropical fruit is also known as the 'Queen of Fruits', mostly because of an association with the redoubtable Queen Victoria.  She was famously adventurous in food and became so enamored of the mangosteen that it was rumored that she promised a knighthood to anyone who could bring her a fresh mangosteen.  Imagine that, a knighthood for a fruit!  

Garcinia mangostana L., dated 1863-1864 from "Fleurs, Fruits et Feuillages Choisis
de I'lle de Java" by Berthe Hoola van Nooten

And why would a humble mangosteen be worth a knighthood?  Well the mangosteen only grows in the tropics.  Which is very far away from England, amirite?  And the mangosteen spoils rather quickly.  I don't think anyone ever managed to overcome these odds to bring a mangosteen to the Queen.

Nowadays procuring a mangosteen is much easier, of course, and we're so lucky for that! When buying the mangosteen check for fruit that are heavy (i.e. juicier).  Give the fruit a gentle squeeze.  The thick rind should give a bit and not be hard.  If the rinds are really hard then the fruit has spoiled already.  Once bought eat the mangosteen quickly, as it doesn't keep well.

Okay, you've located the elusive mangosteen and squirreled away a bag of the fruity delicacies for yourself.  Now you're ready to eat one!  The only question is, how the heck do you get to the fruit?

It's not like other fruit.  There's no 'peel' to peel off.  The fruit is hard all around.  How to get at the delicate fruit inside through that thick hard rind?  Mind you that delicate in this case means very squishable.

So how to go about it?  Easy peasy.  Just grab the fruit in one hand and squeeze until the rind cracks open.  Pretty cool, eh?

Holding onto the green stem, remove the rind along the crack.  Avoid touching the white flesh.

Still holding onto the green stem remove the purple pink rind piece by piece, always avoiding to touch the white flesh.

Most of the rind is removed with just the stem still attached.

Very gently hold the white flesh in one hand.  The other hand should hold onto the stem and slowly twist.  The stem will release.

Ta-da!  The white flesh and the stem are separated.

The fruit is ready to eat now.  The flesh as you can see are sectioned like oranges.  There are some very soft seeds inside which are edible.  You can very gently separate the sections before eating or you could just pop the whole thing in your mouth.  Nom-nom!

Juicy, tangy and sweet with hints of peach, lychee and pineapple, the yummilicious mangosteen really is fit for a queen!

Fruit-ilicious at The Hong Kong Cookery:

Yellow Dragon Fruit Pitahaya 麒麟果

Kidney Mango

Lychee Fruit Season is Here!

Rose Apple

HK Style Mango Pudding

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