Sunday, June 7, 2009



Even though I'm a cherry grower, my favorite fruit to eat is Mangosteens. They are an incredibly delicious, sweet and juicy fruit that almost defies description. Mangosteens also has one of the highest sources of antioxidants in the world and the fruit is also used to produce Xango juice. I am not a Xango distributor so this is a free blurb. LOL!

This fruit is grown in several parts of asia but the best growing region is the country of Thailand. When the fruit is harvested only the very best mangosteens are selected for export to overseas market usually by plane and sometimes by ship.

If you have ever seen this fruit in the grocery stores or markets and wondered why the cost was so high it's because of the freight and the fragile nature of the fruit. Though the outer shell of the fruit looks very hard it's actually quite soft and easy to damage when ripe. Finding mangosteens with rock hard outer shells means the fruit is overripe and only good for juicing. In this case make sure the fruit is washed and you juice the entire fruit to take advantage of the beneficial antioxidants mostly contained in the outer shell.

When choosing the perfect mangosteens to eat out of hand, pick up the fruit gently and squeeze the outer shell, there should be slight give as if you were holding a sponge. If you apply too much pressure to the outer shell it will become indented and this will damage the fruit inside the shell. Also, if there are any yellow stains (looks like spray paint) on the shell, the fruit will be overripe and should be avoided or purchased at a discount.

After you have chosen and purchased your mangosteens, the best way to open the shell is with a small paring knife, apply the edge of the knife to the shell and press firmly, turning the fruit at the same time to create a 360 degrees cut. Once you have made an incision completely around the fruit hold the top and bottom halves in separate hands and twist, the two halves will come apart and voila the fruit inside is ready to be eaten.

The fruit inside are wedges that you can pull apart like an orange and consume. A couple of pieces will contain a seed inside, I usually eat the seeds and all because the fruit is so delicious.

To take advantage of the antioxidant benefits of the shell, I suggest either boiling the outer shell in a couple of cups of water for 20 minutes and then drinking the brew as tea with a little honey ( the brew will be a little sour) and or juicing the shell too and adding it to your favorite juices. Within a month you will notice a difference in your healthly well being.

There are so many delicious fruits in the world, it's sad that we as North Americans don't get to experience more of them or we get turned off because the retailer doesn't take the time to teach us proper picking methods, ripening techniques, and how to store the fruit properly.

Truth be told most retailers don't know much about produce except the basics and if you asked them a question about specialty produce maybe 1 in 10 could actually answer the question knowledgeably.

Please ask your questions here about any type of fruit or vegetable grown anywhere in the world, usually I'll be able to answer your questions with my extensive produce background as a national produce manager, buyer, wholesaler, grower, and retailer.

In this video it's silly that the narrator doesn't mention the high antioxidant properties of the mangosteen. Sometimes things are lost in translation.

MANGOSTEENS - QUEEN OF FRUITS

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