Mangosteens [Pic]

Yesterday, I picked up a 2lb sack of frozen mangosteens at Tai Nam Market.*


Regards,
Erik M.


Tai Nam Market
4925 N. Broadway
773.275.5666

* They were priced at $1.99/lb, and the sacks were averaging 2lbs.

Were they any good Erik? Would you recommend that someone who has never tasted a mangosteen try these as their first exposure to the fruit? They certainly look lovely.

Seth Zurer wrote:Were they any good Erik? Would you recommend that someone who has never tasted a mangosteen try these as their first exposure to the fruit? They certainly look lovely.

Mangosteens are my favourite fruit in the whole world, so I can hardly be objective about it. I started with fourteen mangosteens, yesterday, and now I have one left. No, they cannot compare to fresh mangosteens, but even so, I still find them heavenly.

When it comes to describing the taste, I am at a loss for words. They taste like puckery citrus, kiwi, and cream, all mixed together. Except they don't really.

I have only had fresh mangosteens in South Asian countries. At present, they cannot be imported to the U.S. in the fresh state. They are now being grown domestically, but have a look at what you might pay for the privilege of a U.S.-grown fresh mangosteen.

Regards,
Erik M.

Erik,

Which part of the fruit do you eat? Is it the white garlic looking part or the red flash?

Thanks for the tip Erik.

I saw a piece on a TV newsmagazine last year about the fervor over mangosteens. They talked about the difficulty in getting them in the US and the fans that travel long distances to get fresh ones (even some urban legends about people going deep into hock for their mangosteen "addictions").

Besides US grown ones, there are also supposed to be excellent Dominica-grown mangosteens.

Erik, can you compare the flavor of a frozen mangosteen to a fresh one? Is the flavor or texture altered or tempered by the freezing process?

One tip for people that I've read: The red/purple flesh is said to have beet-like staining qualities.

Best,
Michael / EC

eatchicago wrote:Erik, can you compare the flavor of a frozen mangosteen to a fresh one?

No, not really. Again, I am at a loss for words.

eatchicago wrote:Is the flavor or texture altered or tempered by the freezing process?

Yes, and this should be somewhat evident in the above photo. The white fruit meats had lost moisture and atrophied. The frozen/thawed fruit meats still had the ice-cream-like emphemeralness that characterizes the fresh fruit, but the texture/mouthfeel was slightly different.

eatchicago wrote:One tip for people that I've read: The red/purple flesh is said to have beet-like staining qualities.

This is true, although it is not as dramatic as that of beets.


NO MORE QUESTIONS!! IF I HAVE MANAGED TO PIQUE YOUR CURIOSITY, GO BUY SOME ALREADY!! IF YOU KEEP TALKING THEY WILL BE ALL GONE!!

Regards,
Erik M.

stevez wrote:Erik,

Which part of the fruit do you eat? Is it the white garlic looking part or the red flash?

THE WHITE PART!! THE PURPLE/RED SHELL IS FIBROUS AND TOUGH.

Regards,
Erik M.

So I finally remembered to get some mangosteens today. However, I think I may have gotten a rotten batch.

Several questions:

1. A few of them had dark yellow fibrous stuff taking over the white flesh. I assume this is some type of rot?

2. In the white flesh itself, some of the wedges have pit in them and some don't. What/why is this? Is it some resullt of freezing?

Despite these occurences, these are quite tasty and I will be buying more.

In wandering through Chinatown in New York, I came across a fruit stand with some fresh fruit that seemed vaguely reminiscent, and when I asked what they were I was told Mangosteens, and so they were. I bought three (for $8.00).

I can attest to Erik's judgement as to the exquisiteness of this fruit. They were splendid (the white fleshy part inside, not the deep crimson flesh surrounding it). The flavor is difficult to describe, but if I were forced to do so it had some elements of perfectly ripe lychee, peach, and berry. The texture was like ripe lychee. Sweet and luscious. I don't know if the mangosteens were native to the U.S., shipped in illegally, or whether the rules have changed.

At the risk of having the wrong people read the post, the stand was near Canal and Mulberry on the south side of Canal.

Dept. of Random Info
Last week I saw the strangest thing. In Walmart, along with the Vitamin/'Nutritional' supplements was "Mangosteen" in tonic form. The copy on the package was hilarious. (I'll try and remember to get a pic sometime)

These are often available on the street in Toronto's Chinatown during the warm months. They are always perfectly fresh and not too expensive. All kinds of wonderful tropical fruits show up in those markets (including two other favorites of mine, Rambutan and 'snakefruit') that you never see here. Wonder why not (usda regs is my guess).

Rambutans have seemed to be pretty available in the US, but mangosteens have been rare, and the reason had been the USDA regs.

Damn, I've had a major jones for a mangosteen ever since Eric M's op. Now I believe I saw a box of them yesterday at Tai Nam Market and failed to make the connection. They were located right by the registers, not with the regular produce, and while they may not have been mangosteens I have no idea what they could be.

While I did not pick up everything on my list yesterday (for instance, I failed to find a sausage similar to the Northern Thai Sausage as served at Sticky, that I've previously found at Thai Grocery) but doubt I can justify a return to that neighborhood in the next couple of days.

Argh!

-ramon

Evidently the 'asian fruit fly' is the culprit. Concern about this bugger requires the irradiation of Mangosteens before they can be sold here and they are simply too perishable to tolerate the delay (you know the story about Queen Victoria and the Mangosteen reward offer). But there may be hope as one internet source states that "new technology" may soon change this situation.

Last year as I trecked thru London's Chinatown neighborhood and markets, I stumbled upon the mangosteens. You would have thought I won the lottery, I was very excited. I had not seen any since my Asian travels and expected to wait for more Asian travels for the lovely mangosteen to cross my lips again. I was so excited and thrilled to see them that I smuggled some back home to Chicago.

Asia has some really wonderful fruits that are not readily available here in the US. I feel a bit shortchanged here!

I agree that they are most similar to lychee, but different, of course.

Hope for fresh mangosteens from today's New York Times. (And some info about use of the fruit in supplements, sazerac.)

Kristen

Just today, I found a box of them here:

Hoa Nam Grocery
1101-3 W. Argyle St (at Winthrop)
Chicago, IL

They were less than $3 for a 2lb bag with 10 of them (frozen). There weren't that many bags of them left in the box....

Funny, this is the second Mangosteen-reported item I've come across today:

XanGo juice drink maker gets FDA warning

Apparently, this company makes a Mangosteen-based juice drink, and the FDA is taking offense (sensibly) that they're claiming it's proof against cancer, depression, infection, Alzheimer's, and that it's a natural COX-2 inhibitor.

I was in Toronto three weeks ago and mangosteens were everywhere in Chinatown for the low price of $3.99 - $4.99 a pound!
Mangosteens are one of my favorite fruits and I gorged on these for the three days I was in Toronto.

The New York Times article does give one hope that soon they will become as ubiquitous as kiwis which were at one time exotic, expensive, and a rare treat!

I found this thread in a search for good Thai markets, and I am intrigued. I love mangosteen..... but I also love good pummullo (which one can now find all over when it is in season) and also rambutan.

Does anyone know when rambutan is in season and where one might find it?

Found these the other day at Grand Mart, and bought them, thinking of this thread:


I have no idea how they compare to the frozen real thing, but we enjoyed them very much; I liked the kind of fruit/nut texture combo you get from eating the seeds. I can see why they're a favorite!

Spotted some fresh mangosteens @ the Oriental market on Argyle today. 2 lb bags were (I believe) $6.95 lb.