Mangosteen

Native to Malaysia, the mangosteen is cultivated in areas all along what is known as the Asian Monsoon Belt, including Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The reddish-brown fruit is about the size of a mandarin orange, round and flat on both the top and the bottom. The fruit is unusual-looking, with sepals curving in on top around a thick stem. It is not, however, until the fruit is cut open (the rind is very thick and tough and has to be cut open with a sharp knife from end to end) that the real beauty of this fruit is revealed. Inside, five to seven white segments are positioned not unlike citrus segments. The segments look very similar to the flesh of the lychee, while the interior of the rind looks like that of a passion fruit (pinkish red studded with yellow). The pulp has a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a flavor that is very hard to describe—perhaps “indescribably good” would do it justice. Mangosteens are eaten out of hand (should you be lucky enough to have this opportunity, be aware that the juice will cause quite ugly stains). In desserts, the fruit produces fabulous-tasting bavarian creams and sorbets.