The quest for the elusive mangosteen

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) is supposed to be the queen of fruits, perhaps the best tasting, yet few in the Untied States have ever heard of it. That's because the fresh fruits are illegal to import from their native habitat in Thailand; agriculture officials are worried about the accidental introduction of the Asian fruit fly onto U.S. crops.

I have been feeling cheated, like missing a chance to sample at the forbidden Garden of Eden.

Imagine my surprise for finding them frozen at Shuang Hur supermarket on University Avenue in Saint Paul (perhaps they are able to import mangosteen in this form because the fruit fly would be killed by freezing?)

Mangosteen fruit from Shuang Hur market

But how do they taste and hold up after being frozen? Well, not great. I learned the hard way that you must eat them immediately upon defrosting because the bitter purple outer shell begins to penetrate the soft white mandarin-orange-like center more deeply the longer you wait. A day after defrosting, they were pretty inedible. A more experienced friend who had been to Thailand said that the bitter fruit that I was eating tasted nothing like the fresh-off-the-tree.

In July, I ordered mangosteen seeds from a grower in Hawaii. The seeds are only viable for about 5 days, and the plants themselves cannot be air-layered, cloned, or grafted. This would all explain why we never see mangosteen plants for sale.

Mangosteen seedling, about 8 weeks old

I currently have 9 small seedlings. The growth is extremely slow. I have mine sitting in the basement on a heating pad under a florescent tube grow light. I don't dare risk putting them into the greenhouse because they die at 50 degrees – extremely sensitive. My goal is to raise them to about 15 inches tall (about 2 years) and then obtain an import permit to delivery them to my farm in Belize.

With any luck I will have fruit in 10 – 15 years. That's a long commitment not knowing quite what they taste like and just acting on rumors.

(Garcinia mangostana L)

Delicious? Yes. Too exotic to wait for? No.

Dear Preston,

I am the President of the Tampa Bay Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council and I have mangosteen plants growing in my greenhouse. The mangosteen plants are NOT extremely sensitive. I keep my greenhouse just above 32 deg. I have other plants that are very sensitive to the cold but mangosteen is not one of them. You can check out our web site at http://www.rarefruit.org/

Thank you!

Charles

Hi, my name is Jim Bartlett. There is good news for those with an interest in mangosteens. In 2007 the U.S. is going to start allowing the fruit to be imported.

Enjoy!

Jim

Mangosteen is super :)

Its called a superfruit

there is a good restaurant here in San Francisco called Mangosteen, where nearly everything on the menu is made with them. I think most people wouldn't quite know what it is, however, outside of the huge asian population here.

You can pick them up fresh in ChinaTown though, and I have several times... delicious!

I drink Mangosteen juice everyday and love it.



The Queen of Fruits!!



If your interested you can buy mangosteen juice from here.



www.mangosteen4life.ca

I really enjoyed mangosteens in Sri Lanka several years ago, and I am looking forward to getting them in the US. I don't expect they will be available in Minnesota anytime soon.

Oh,oh. Your commitment to the mangosteen plants inspires me to do the same. I love seeds and nurturing little sprouts,
like my clivia from a seed pod gathered in my old neighborhood, the French Quarter of New Orleans, shortly after Katrina. It has only 3 leaves after nearly two years, but I am patient. Best wishes on your Belize plantings.