…to eat for the rest of my life, it would be the mangosteen.

Mangosteens

I’ve had this fruit as a child in Asia but never had it again in Canada. I don’t actually remember whether the fruit wasn’t available or whether it was available but was prohibitively expensive. Anyway, I got another taste of the fruit when I was an undergrad in London when I found a small basket of them at a small local Thai shop. They’re sold by weight and damn the things – the skins are extremely thick and heavy! So much is thrown away to get to the sweet, juicy flesh. I still remember that one tiny fruit cost me 75p and that I still remembered the flavour and I loved it.

Now I’ve found slightly more affordable packs of the fruit at Oriental City where 6 mangosteens sell for about £2. They can also be found in Chinatown but I prefer the quality of the ones at OC. Do try them if you can find them – perfectly ripe ones are a delight to eat and slightly less ripe ones have a slight tang to them. Many have compared their flavour to other fruit but I think they’re unique.