Long illegal in the US due to the belief that they harbored the Asian fruit fly, mangosteens are no longer contraband. The ban was lifted in October of 2007, and the first fruits were shipped in April of this year. Look what we found at New May Wah supermarket on Clement Street in San Francisco!
Fresh Mangosteens Now Available In The US!
We were so excited that we text messaged Faith to tell her the news of our precious find. Mangosteens! The first time we ever had a mangosteen was in Montréal - they are legal in Canada. A friend of ours cut the thick, leathery flesh at the equator and twisted the top off, revealing five perfect, pearly-white sections inside. The taste was heavenly - sweet, fruity, and exotic.
Queen Victoria is said to have offered knighthood to anyone who brought her fresh mangosteens from Asia. Often called the "Queen of Fruits," they were indeed expensive at $14 per pound. Ouch!
Mangosteens are a tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia and the Malay archipelago. They are difficult to grow outside of their native habitat. They are also found in freeze-dried form at Trader Joe's and canned in Asian supermarkets. Personally, we shun the dried and canned and hold out for the fresh fruit.
Fresh mangosteens will likely be found in Asian markets for a while before they hit mainstream supermarkets. They can also be found online at Frieda's, but be prepared to empty your wallet.
Pick fruits that have firm outer rind. They are very easy to open; simply score the outer rind with a serrated knife along the "equator," taking care not to slice through to the pulp. Twist off one section and presto - the delicacies beneath are now present to you. Pick off a section and pop it in your mouth, and enjoy! Oh - and take care not to let any juice from the purple rind stain your clothes or fingers; it's difficult to wash off.
Happy exotic fruit hunting!
Related:
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(Images: Kathryn Hill)
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Ingredients - Fruit, Asian, indonesia, thailand, singapore, exotic, malaysia, mangosteen, southeast asia, tropical fruit, vietnamRelated Links
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Oh, looks delicious!!
view faith's profile
Yummy mangosteens, how I miss you!!!
view jls6fq's profile
wow, mangosteens are not luxury food in Canada. they can be found as cheap as $2/lb at the height of the season. multiple places carry mangosteens in Toronto (Spadina Chinatown).
view winky's profile
Canada always had a more open policy when it comes to imported fruits. As a result, prices are lower. I remember NYC relatives gorging themselves on lychees on one visit, because they couldn't get it in NYC (and couldn't bring them back thanks to US customs). I am not sure I have ever seen dragon fruit sold (legally) in the US, but I know they are available in Canada (something like $4 each..in Hong Kong they are 3 for $15 HKD).
The asian supermarkets down here in San Jose are selling a bag of mangosteens for $7/lb.
view gnomatic's profile
I was just in Bangkok and it's mangosteen season. I walked by a tent where I saw vendors shoveling mountains of mangosteen (no kidding). They sold for 50 cents a pound.
view Raena's profile
hey are called Manggis in Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) and simply gorgeous. We usually don't use a knife to open it but just a simple twist. One of my favourite childhood memories is picking them off my grandma's orchard and feeding on them. I haven't seen any in NL Or Germany yet. You can't even get them by the pound here usually it is clingwrapped in a tray of 4 each. And they are prohibitively expensive! I wish I am in Malaysia at this time of the year it is the best time to be there - the fruit season!
view mangolisa's profile
If you're looking to buy some in LA, Silom Market on Hollywood Blvd just east of Western has them for $5.99 a pound. They're by the register. I bought 8 pounds yesterday and the lady who runs the place was happy to give me a tutorial. She said the rind has to be firm but squeezable. She insisted that very hard rinds mean bad mangosteens.
Also, they are better than you think, heaven.
view mangabanga's profile
They have those freeze dried at Trader Joe's in packets and they are delicious.
Freeze dried, they have the texture of meringues and the seed inside is like a little nut treat.
They are quite expensive as freeze dried items, but they are soooo tasty.
I'd never tried them fresh. I will look around for them.
view TRUE BLUE's profile
I usually just press them between my palms.
view Raena's profile
I respectfully differ in opinion to True Blue - I didn't care for the Trader Joe's freeze-dried fruit. It may have been just the brutal disappointment at FINALLY finding mangosteens here, only to pop a piece in my mouth and discover that it was to fresh mangosteen what a withered, dried rose is to a fresh cut flower.
While I love the fruit, I think its scarcity has created the risk that it will be severely overhyped now that it's here.
view Jaze's profile