mangosteens - queen of fruits

AserAser 2,351 Posts
edited June 2006 in Strut Central
Now that summer is here, it's time to celebrate your local fruit experience. Anybody here ever try mangosteens? It is a life altering experience, my tastebuds have never been the same since that fateful day. The taste is beyond incredible, it is seriously one of nature's best gifts to mankind. The fruit also happens to be jam packed w/ anti-oxidants, so who knew something this tasty can be so healthy.Unfortunately, the fruit is highly seasonal, and almost exclusively grown in SE Asia. Price might be a little high, plus only 1/3 of the fruit is edible. Also, to my knowledge, the fruit is banned in the US because of fears of an asian fruit fly entering the agricultural community. If you're outside the US, then most asian markets will have them around this time of the year.ps: peaches are incredible right now too, juicy!
«1

  Comments


  • GropeGrope 2,970 Posts
    i love fruits. i'm going to give a lecture about fruits at my university next week.
    fruits are great!

    i like peaches too. and strawberries. kinda old-school, but still... strawberries rule. my girlfriend lives next to a huge strawberry field (ORGANIC --> YES!). i often go there at night and eat for free.




    mangos are cool too, but some taste bad and rot pretty fast. i like mirabelles too. delicious! and papaya (pawpaw in English?).

  • GropeGrope 2,970 Posts
    I need to try those mangosteens, right? i have never seen them over here. germany isn't a good place to find rare fruits.

  • SooksSooks 714 Posts
    I celebrate their entire catalogue (I put them in the same family with lychee and longan, is that wrong?). Had a great experience this time a few years ago eating mangosteens in Malaysia just about as fresh as you can get.

  • Unfortunately, the fruit is highly seasonal, and almost exclusively grown in SE Asia. Price might be a little high, plus only 1/3 of the fruit is edible. Also, to my knowledge, the fruit is banned in the US because of fears of an asian fruit fly entering the agricultural community. If you're outside the US, then most asian markets will have them around this time of the year.

    I love me some mangosteen, too. I thought they weren't available in the US either, but I caught some last year at Berkeley Bowl, the local hippie grocery mega-store. I've heard that in order to be sold here, they have to undergo some kind of irradiation process or something else creepy, but (1) I don't know if that's true and (2) damn they taste good.

  • slushslush 691 Posts
    aser where might i find them in toronto? are they everywhere and im just totally oblivious?

  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    mongo - dude, I can't describe how much I heart berkeley bowl, I can't believe how green the parsley was. That really blew my mind. Also blowing my mind right now is soul boulders.

    slush - you can find them in chinatown, just look around spadina. Season started recently, so they'll be around for the next couple of months. On avg, they're $4.99/lb, although I know whole foods sells them for $9.99/lb, they gets the gas face.

  • slushslush 691 Posts
    many thanks im gonna pick some up on me way home

  • ja_bruceja_bruce 295 Posts
    I like these
    A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluot">Pluots/A>
    And I want to try these
    A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee">Lychee/A>

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I like these
    A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluot">Pluots/A>
    And I want to try these
    A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee">Lychee/A>

    Lychee are great - easy to find in any decent Chinese market.

    Remember those gummy lychee candies they had to discontinue b/c kids were choking on them? Man, I miss those.

    I want to try this.

  • mylatencymylatency 10,475 Posts
    Yo on the fruit tip what is the name of the asian fruit that is like a hollow apple but all crispy like watermelon a little on the flesh? Hardly any seeds or something. I ate like a bajillion of those last time I went back.

  • chungtechchungtech 290 Posts
    I love me some mangosteen, too. I thought they weren't available in the US either, but I caught some last year at Berkeley Bowl, the local hippie grocery mega-store. I've heard that in order to be sold here, they have to undergo some kind of irradiation process or something else creepy, but (1) I don't know if that's true and (2) damn they taste good.


    IS THIS THE TRUTH!??????? I CAN GET THEM AT BERKELEY BOWL??
    Mangosteen is my favoritest fruit that I've never had. I have always, always wanted to try them and I make my friends who have describe the flavor to me in great detail. I will start checking over there but so far I have never seen one. I always get distracted by the caltrops there, those black buffalo looking chestnutty things.


  • Yo on the fruit tip what is the name of the asian fruit that is like a hollow apple but all crispy like watermelon a little on the flesh? Hardly any seeds or something. I ate like a bajillion of those last time I went back.

    Dunno about the hollow part, but could you be talking about Nashi? Asian Pear?



    So good on a muggy Tokyo Sumer day.

  • mylatencymylatency 10,475 Posts
    Nah, it is more like a weird apple / tomato and way hollow and crispy...I know what an asian pear is, heh.

  • sneakypsneakyp 202 Posts
    i believe all mangosteens in the US come from hawaii, unless of course smuggled in from china or malaysia. i've never seen them outside of chinatown and they're usually few and pricey. i've never had the good fortune to try one, but every report i hear is that they're unbelievable. i'm on a mission to hunt some down on my next day off.
    as for local shit, it's all about strawberries in NY right now, although mid-june is about as late in the season as the good one's go. right around memorial day they're untouchable. shit what's next...cherries i think, into raspberries and currants, into peaches, into plums, into apples and grapes. eating some perfectly ripe grapes with sticky juice dripping all over hands and face on a fall day? hell yeah. that might be my favorite.
    where do you live where mangosteens are local?

  • wooshiewooshie 490 Posts
    mylatency,

    that sounds like a 'chinese apple' - i don't know what they're really called. they're kinda sour, we used to throw them at each other.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    mylatency,

    that sounds like a 'chinese apple' - i don't know what they're really called. they're kinda sour, we used to throw them at each other.

    Is that what they make Haw Flakes out of? I could never figure out what fruit those were supposed to be.

  • wooshiewooshie 490 Posts
    Is that some kind of cereal?

    They make nice red splatter all over your gear, but then you go home and it washes right out, no stains!

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts

    Is that what they make Haw Flakes out of? I could never figure out what fruit those were supposed to be.

    according to wikipedia, they're made of the fruit of the hawthorn tree.

    also according to wikipedia, "Haw flakes have an uncanny resemblance to the body of the lord. Kids sometimes play communion by acting as a priest while he gives the haw flake to a younger sibling."


  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Is that some kind of cereal?

    They make nice red splatter all over your gear, but then you go home and it washes right out, no stains!

    Get familiar:

  • damagedamage 118 Posts
    haw flakes are the shit

    other fruits to try out are goji and acai. fucking amazing and so good for you.

  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    Is that some kind of cereal?

    They make nice red splatter all over your gear, but then you go home and it washes right out, no stains!

    Get familiar:
    omg
    my childhood is contained within these flakes

  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    here is what I know.....

    mangosteens are illegal in 49 of 50 states in the US. Only legal state is Hawaii where limited supplies are currently being grown. The crops have only been planted w/i the last 10 years, and trees require 8-10 yrs to mature to fruit producing stage. They have not been successfully planted in areas outside of the tropics. Also the same export restriction applies to Hawaii.

    From what I gather, the most likely source of mangosteens in the US is on the black market. Hence why you sometimes see them in Chinatown and such. I can't explain the Berkeley bowl scenario, maybe them hippies are not as disconnected from the streets as I thought.

    They are LEGALLY available in Canada, and can be found in asian markets during the seasons. Right now obviously from Asia and in winter available from S. America.

    slush - let us know how you enjoyed your first mangosteen experience.

  • BrianBrian 7,618 Posts
    ima try to hit somewhere up and find these since aser recommended them so highly =P

  • Danno3000Danno3000 2,851 Posts

    slush - you can find them in chinatown, just look around spadina. Season started recently, so they'll be around for the next couple of months. On avg, they're $4.99/lb, although I know whole foods sells them for $9.99/lb, they gets the gas face.

    The best mangosteens I've seen were at the Harvest Wagon, but they were $14.99/lb. I think it's best to buy them at $4.99/lb where there is high turnover, ie in chinatown, like Aser suggested.

  • AserAser 2,351 Posts
    yes danno and I are the official founders of the mangosteen appreciation club of soulstrut.

    so yes, how can we convince la paloma to make a mangosteen sorbeto?

    ps: for the Toronto folks inquiring, you can find mangosteens also at.....

    http://www.tnt-supermarket.com/

    ps: they last around 3-4 days in room temperature, do not put them in the refridgerator, it'll ruin it. The ideal storage temperature is 10C, but I doubt anyone has access to a 10C temperature controlled room. In the ideal conditions, it can be stored for 3-4 weeks.

  • chungtechchungtech 290 Posts
    yes danno and I are the official founders of the mangosteen appreciation club of soulstrut.

    so yes, how can we convince la paloma to make a mangosteen sorbeto?

    ps: for the Toronto folks inquiring, you can find mangosteens also at.....

    http://www.tnt-supermarket.com/

    ps: they last around 3-4 days in room temperature, do not put them in the refridgerator, it'll ruin it. The ideal storage temperature is 10C, but I doubt anyone has access to a 10C temperature controlled room. In the ideal conditions, it can be stored for 3-4 weeks.

    Is there anyone in Toronto that would be willing to send me one here in Oakland?????
    Now I am DYING TO EAT A MANGOSTEEN!!
    of fruit

  • mylatencymylatency 10,475 Posts
    Is that some kind of cereal?

    They make nice red splatter all over your gear, but then you go home and it washes right out, no stains!
    omg

    my childhood is contained within these flakes



    those and flaky curry pastries:



    unfukwitable

    ja li jiao for life

  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
    mangosteen are definately the queen of all fruits and one of the joys of having lived in tropical Australia was when they were in season.

    the king of tropical fruits is
    An acquired taste but you get a high off them

    my favourite tropical fruits are Lychees
    A$3 a kilo in summer

    Rambutan

    Rollinia
    Soursop

    Black Sapote (chocolate pudding fruit)

  • GropeGrope 2,970 Posts
    Which Soulstruttter is a biologist? I need some help. I need to find a job after college. Working as a biologist in Germany is almost unpossible, unless you really want to work in a lab all day (I don't!). I'm studying genetics, cell biology and botany. Are there jobs for botanists in the US? Help me!

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
Sign In or Register to comment.