Mangosteen Tropical Fruit Box Canada

Order your Mangosteen Tropical Fruit Box today! The mangosteen is a tropical fruit typically measuring 5 to 7 centimeters in diameter, similar in size to a tangerine. It features four to eight rounded, woody lobes at the tip of its thick, leathery, burgundy shell. Inside, you’ll find five or six triangular segments of white, delicious, soft flesh. The flesh can be seedless or contain a few flat seeds. The number of segments inside the fruit corresponds to the number of lobes on its exterior.Mangosteen Tropical Fruit Box Canada

Mangosteens offer a unique sour-sweet taste reminiscent of lychee, peach, strawberry, pineapple, and even caramel or butter, making them a popular choice. They are available from early summer through early winter.Mangosteen Tropical Fruit Box Canada

Mangosteen Exotic Fruit Review

Mangosteen, known botanically as Garcinia mangostana, is often called the “Queen of Fruits” due to its esteemed reputation. This fruit is primarily grown by small-scale farmers in Southeast Asia, including regions like southern Vietnam, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and the Philippines, with Thailand being the dominant exporter.

Beyond Southeast Asia, mangosteens thrive in southern India and northern Australia. They are also cultivated commercially in about 15 countries in Central America and the Caribbean, although on a smaller scale. While not grown commercially in the United States, mangosteens can be found at farmers’ markets in Hawaii, thanks to local cultivation.Mangosteen Tropical Fruit Box Canada

Health Benefits of Mangosteen

Mangosteen has been traditionally used to address a range of health issues, including blood sugar control, weight loss, and skin health. It is rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. Mangosteen contains xanthones, a unique class of plant compounds known for their powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. These compounds may help reduce the risk of various diseases and support the immune system. Mangosteen has also been explored in traditional medicine as a potential alternative cancer treatment due to its anticancer activity.

How to Enjoy Mangosteen

Mangosteens are best enjoyed fresh, either eaten whole or juiced. Ripe fruits have thick skins that are easily peeled when soft. To open, make a slit around the fruit’s center with a sharp knife and remove the top half of the shell. Be careful, as the shell contains purple fluid that can stain. Canned or frozen mangosteens are available, although they may lose some of their delicate flavor and texture.

In some regions of Thailand and Goa, mangosteens are used in savory curry dishes. Elsewhere, they pair well with citrus, apple, pineapple, banana, kiwi, watermelon, pomegranate, butter, and vanilla. Mangosteens are delicate and bruise easily, causing the flesh to harden. They do not continue to ripen after being picked, so they should be consumed shortly after harvest.

Where to Buy Mangosteen in Canada

Due to its rapid spoilage, mangosteen has historically been a prized fruit. European colonists in Southeast Asia even circulated a story that Queen Victoria offered a reward for anyone who could bring her a fresh mangosteen. This legendary offer helped cement the mangosteen’s reputation as the “Queen of Fruits.” Mangosteens and durians, known as the “King of Fruits,” are often enjoyed together in Asia due to their complementary cooling and warming properties according to traditional Chinese medicine.

To preserve freshness, store mangosteens at 10 degrees Celsius (slightly warmer than a typical refrigerator setting) for a few weeks or at room temperature for a couple of days.

History of Mangosteen

Mangosteen has flourished in the wild across parts of Southeast Asia, likely originating in Malaysia and the Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Thailand and Burma are also considered early centers of tree domestication. The plant was first cultivated in English greenhouses in the mid-19th century before spreading to the Americas, particularly the Caribbean and West Indies.

In 1906, food adventurer David Fairchild sent seeds from Java to the United States Department of Agriculture. Despite efforts, cultivation in California and Florida proved challenging. Mangosteen trees require constant high humidity, rainfall, and cannot withstand temperatures below 4.5 degrees Celsius, making them difficult to grow outside the tropics.