Mangosteen

Let's move on from war to fruit. These gorgeous mysterious creatures go by the name "Mangosteen". Anyone who has ever eaten one should have their mouths watering by now.

The closest thing I can compare them to is a lychee, but they're much creamier, and come in slippery little segments, like an orange. I love them because the skin is so thick I don't have to worry about scrubbing them with bleach before I eat them. There's a reason they're called the "queen of fruits".


Mangosteen only grow in very hot climates and are rumored to have the same antioxidant properties and pomegranates, blueberries, and the ever-trendy acai berry. Unfortunately they're incredibly difficult to find in the USA because of fears that they carry the Asian Fruit Fly. Rumor has it that they can only be found in specialty New York City stores for $45 a pound.

With that in mind I'm eating as many as I can get my hands on. You'd do the same if you had them offered to you on the street at 10 for $4.


The season is ending and I'm seeing less and less women with overflowing baskets of mangosteen on their heads. I was mourning the loss of them just as I'd discovered their lusciousness, until I learned that soon the papayas in my garden would be ripening. I can see them out the bathroom window as I shower and I'm watching their green skin slowly turn slightly yellow. I'm already plotting ways to get them down from their tall trees...