Bag of Mangosteens (2.2 lbs)
Item Purchased: Bag of Mangosteens (2.2 lbs)
Location Purchased: Chinatown Market / 2121 S Archer Ave / Chicago, IL
Price: $14.99 + tax
Purchased on: 06/06/08
Review: I’m not sure where I first heard about Mangosteens, but I’ve been looking for fresh ones ever since. After a few sightings of the frozen variety around Chicago, I came upon the odd little delicacy at a store I pass every day on the way to work. Completely unrelated to the mango, unlike it’s outer plum or inner garlic appearance and illegal in the U.S. up until one year ago, mangosteens belong at the top of your grocery list.
Hidden beyond the tough exocarp, which needs to be cut around the equator of the fruit, lies what looks like a head of garlic. The creamy white segments range in size and have the consistency of a very ripe orange. The flavor of a mangosteen is a hard one to describe to the uninitiated. Some of the people I shared these fruits with have noted similarities to sweet bananas and apples. To me, a mangosteen tastes like a creamy mix between a grape, a peach and a pineapple. To describe the flavor to someone, however, is to cheapen the flavor. You just have to experience it for yourself.
Currently, mangosteens are only available as imports from Thailand and Puerto Rico and can sometimes be found in Asian markets as well as some high-end groceries and restaurants. Though the price is a bit high, and I’ve been told that the ones found in Asia taste even better, mangosteens are worth a purchase for those of you who are tired of your daily breakfast of bananas and corn flakes.
Mangosteens have quickly become a permanent resident on my shortlist of favorite fruits, though I’m not looking forward to the hole they will surely burn in my pockets.
Rating: 4.5 / 5
June 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I’m in total SHOCK of the price !!!!!!