What month is mangosteen in season? A guide to choosing and eating it properly

Mangosteen, commonly known as mangosteen, or shanzhu, shanzhuzi, daonianzi, is widely cultivated in tropical regions of Asia and Africa. It is a famous tropical fruit that can be eaten raw or made into preserved fruit. So what month is it in season? How do you choose it? How is it best eaten? According to Guangdong mangosteen grower Wang Huagang, May to September is the peak season for mangosteen, and generally May to June is the sales peak. Most of the mangosteen sold on the market is imported. Mangosteen originated in the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago, and is cultivated in large quantities in Southeast Asian regions such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Myanmar. The mangosteen shell is thick and hard and purple, and the flesh is snow-white, tender and soft, sweet with a slight sourness, very tasty. If you do not like durian and only eat mangosteen, it is likewise an excellent fruit. In hot Thailand, the mangosteen season happens to coincide with the hottest summer, and eating more mangosteen also greatly helps to reduce internal heat and relieve the heat, cool and refreshing.

How do you choose mangosteen?

1. When buying mangosteen, be sure to choose fresh fruit with green calyx and soft fruit, otherwise you may buy “dead bamboo”.

2. Press the shell lightly with your finger. If the skin is very hard and dry, and even pressing hard with your finger still cannot make the skin dent, and the calyx leaves are dark in color, it means this mangosteen is too old and not suitable to eat. The few on the right in the picture below are too old and have already gone bad.

3. You can look at the calyx segments under the fruit; as many segments as there are indicates how many segments of flesh are inside the fruit.

4. The outer shell of mangosteen tends to dry out when exposed to air, so it is recommended to buy only as much as you will eat. For storage, refrigeration is the main method; it needs to be refrigerated in the fridge, and usually after five days the flavor deteriorates steadily. It can be stored for ten days at most.

How do you eat mangosteen?

1. The skin of mangosteen is thick and hard. You can cut the skin open with a knife, or pinch the skin with your hands until it cracks and then pull it open. After peeling the skin, purple juice flows out from inside, and the shelled mangosteen reveals its snow-white, tender, smooth, enticing flesh.

2. Use a knife to slice the skin flat open to a diameter of 5 cm, then put it in the freezer compartment of the fridge for 1--2 hours. Take it out after a meal as a cold treat; it is very refreshing to eat.

3. Rinse the surface of the mangosteen clean with water, not too forcefully. Just wash it slowly; after washing, wipe it dry, and remember to wipe slowly, not too forcefully; hold the mangosteen with your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, then apply force toward the middle, squeezing slowly, and hold it steady. You will find that with a little force, the shell cracks open along a line, then pull the crack open and eat the white flesh inside (like garlic).

4. Mangosteen is cold in nature and has an excellent effect of reducing heat and relieving dryness. It is the fruit that best balances the king of fruits, durian. After eating the highly nourishing durian, eating a few mangosteens can clear heat, nourishing the body without causing internal heat.

5. Mangosteen is relatively high in sugar, so pregnant women with gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes should not eat it; mangosteen contains relatively high potassium, so pregnant mothers with kidney disease and heart disease should eat less of it; mangosteen is cold in nature, so people with a weak and cold constitution should eat less of it; in addition, mangosteen is rich in fiber, and eating too much can cause constipation.