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| Mangosteen |
In the l
ast post about longans, commenter John L. (an esteemed and educated person) inquired about
mangosteen. No relation to the
mango, this treasured fruit has been dubbed "The Queen of Fruits" (apparently, the odoriferous durian claims the King title) and is indeed difficult to ship outside of the tropics. I've seen and purchased them in frozen form in area Asian markets, and I fear that they lose their distinctive flavor this way. The promise of
fresh domestically grown mangosteen was reported in 2006, but I've yet to see the fruit of that promise. The
Panoramic Fruit Company founded for this purpose in Puerto Rico simply reports that they are not shipping to the mainland US.
It's a shame. I've had mangosteen in Canada (for a shocking price), but it couldn't be brought back over the border.
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| Mangosteen, opened. |
Like the pomegranate, one eats the white arils surrounding the seeds (don't bother spitting the seeds out, just swallow them). The main pulp is a beautiful purple color, but isn't really eaten. The flavor is bright, acidic, sweet, ephemeral. It really is its own flavor. Some of the best are grown in Thailand - if you have the opportunity, you should try it.
Thank you very much. Such excellent service here.
ReplyDeleteAnd such lovely pictures.
I'll have to talk to somebody in one of the Vancouver markets,
if they're getting as far as Canada. We go there pretty often.
i've had fresh ones in houston-- mostly at vietnamese supermarkets, and usually pre-packaged in bags weighing 2lbs or more (they're always around $7/lb). i agree, frozen mangosteen is a strange mushy mess. i don't know why they bother.
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