Mangosteen 山竹

Mangosteen 山竹

 

  Fresh and ripe mangosteens

While durian is dubbed as the king of fruits in Malaysia, the queen of fruits is indisputably the mangosteen. Some sources reported the mangosteen to be a tropical evergreen fruit. The fact is, the mangosteen is a seasonal fruit. You don't get it throughout the year. The durian and the mangosteen season usually go hand in hand. While the durian is believed to warm up your body the mangosteen cools it and that means they complement each other.

The mangosteen may not look very attractive but once the rind is removed you will see white juicy flesh which is sweet, tangy and very tasty. Be very careful when opening the fruit because the juice from the purple rind stains clothing and it is impossible to remove. And one more thing, the purple rind is not edible as it is bitter.

How do you open the mangosteen? Easy. Just remove the green stem, place the mangosteen between your palms and give it a gentle squeeze. The rind will break open to reveal the inside as shown in the picture below. 

A point of interest, on the bottom of the rind, you will find raised ridges arranged like spokes of a wheel. These raised ridges will correspond to the number of the wedges of flesh inside the mangosteen. The fruit below has seven pieces of flesh. Now, if you were to check the bottom of the fruit you will find seven raised ridges.

 Sweet and juicy white flesh appears once the rind is removed

Tips on choosing mangosteen

The stem must look fresh and green as in the top picture. The rind must be light or dark purple, indicating ripeness. If it is yellowish, then it is not ripe. Take a mangosteen and use your fingers to press the rind softly if the rind is soft then it is a good one. If the rind is hard then it is either overripe or no longer fresh.

 A mound of mangosteen