Mangosteen

I recently found mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) in a Kapaʻa natural foods market and indeed it is a treat, often called The Queen of Fruit. Mostly grown in Southeast Asia they do well here and are grown at small scale on the island - I donʻt think there are any orchards here, just a few trees here and there. Mangosteen trees take twelve years to begin to produce fruit which is a natural deterrent to commercial farming - imagine applying for a farm loan to run the farm with your business model showing first income in 2025.

The skin is somewhat hard and covers a spongy outer layer that you break open, revealing the edible aril (a fruity covering of a seed, e.g. pomegranate) inside that is segmented and looks quite a bit like tangerine only white. These segments are the fruit - the covering tastes unpleasant. The taste is indescribable: tropical scented but unique, lightly sweet, with an almost creamy. One larger segment was a little pithier and contained an underdeveloped seed surrounded by stringy fibers much like in a mango (do not crunch up and eat the seed).

Note: fresh mangosteen is hard to find outside of Southeast Asia and canned it can be found in oriental food stores ... However, it is said that the flavor is largely lost by the canning process.