What season do mangosteens ripen in? A detailed guide to the ripening season
Mangosteens generally ripen from May to September. When choosing them, pick medium to small ones. A fresh mangosteen has a green stem end; when squeezed, the shell feels fairly soft and springy. Once opened, the flesh inside is pure white. If you can gently pinch the shell between your thumb and index finger and leave a slight fingerprint, it is ripe. If the shell is as hard as stone, it is most likely no longer edible. If there is a lot of yellow juice at the stem end, decide not to buy it. Look at how many segments there are at the bottom of the mangosteen - that is how many segments of flesh are inside.
The peak ripening season for mangosteens is generally May and June. Most mangosteens on the market are imported. They originated in the Malay Peninsula and the Malay Archipelago, and are cultivated in relatively large quantities in Southeast Asian regions such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Myanmar.
The mangosteen shell is thick, hard and purple, while the flesh is snowy white, tender and soft, sweet with a slight tartness, and very delicious. If you do not like durian and eat only mangosteens, that is likewise an excellent fruit. In the hot climate of Thailand, the mangosteen season happens to fall in the hottest summer, and eating more mangosteens will greatly help you reduce internal heat and cool down, refreshing and delicious.
Mangosteen shells dry out easily when exposed to air, so it is advisable to buy only as many as you will eat. For storage, refrigeration is the main method; they need to be kept refrigerated in the fridge. Usually after five days the flavor deteriorates steadily, and they can be stored for ten days at most.
The mangosteen is a uniquely gifted fruit: its shell is thick, so the flesh is relatively well protected from damage, and the tree lives for more than seventy years. The cost of cultivation is not high either, but it must be grown for seven or eight years before it can be harvested. Unlike rambutan, which bears fruit in only three or four years, or durian, which can be sold after five years, the mangosteens produced in Rayong Province, Thailand, are of good quality.