Mangosteen

The mangosteen, botanically named Garcinia magostana, is also nicknamed the “Queen of Fruits”. The trees are cultivated primarily on small-scale farms and sold at local markets throughout Southeast Asia. Mangosteen cultivation vigorously develops in the Nilgiri hills and Southern India. Mangosteen offers a variety of essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and has been used to treat an array of health concerns, from blood sugar control to weight loss, to maintaining healthy skin, though more studies on the fruit’s health benefits are needed to support certain correlations.

Tropical mangosteens have a diameter of five to seven centimeters, making them about the same size as a tangerine. It has a thick, leathery, smooth, burgundy shell with four to eight flat, woody lobes grouped in a rosette at the tip. An average of five to six triangular segments of white, juicy, soft flesh, with only a few flat seeds, are enclosed in the thick skin. These segments have a flowery aroma and are typically five or six in number. Actually, there is a correlation between the number of lobes at the fruit's outer apex and the interior segmentation. With lychee, peach, strawberry, pineapple, caramel, or butter overtones as well as a sweet-tart tropical flavor, mangosteens are a popular fruit.