Discover the Power of Mangosteens and How to Use Them
A.k.a. The Queen of Fruits
12 February 2014
The mangosteen fruit is exotic and delicious and packed full of phytonutrients that have huge health benefits. It is grown mainly in Southeast Asia and other tropical regions, however…. Here in the UAE it is found in Spinneys, Lulu and Carrefour.
It is a small dark purple fruit and is roughly the size of a tangerine—about 2-3 inches in diameter.
The mangosteen has often been called the Queen of Fruits (Queen Victoria gave knighthood to anyone who brought it to her).
It has a bitter, purplish rind and a beautiful, white pulp with 4-8 segments if you look at the bottom of the fruit, it has a brown base, in a clover leaf shape, the leaves on this base, will tell you how many fruit segments there are inside.
The fruit is sweet and has the texture of lychees, each small segment has a tiny stone in the middle, much like a peach stone but around the size of a grape seed. Mangosteen tastes a little like melon. It is very easy to peel, the outside skin is like firm cardboard, and can be peeled off easily.
What are the health benefits of eating mangosteens?
Mangosteen fruit contains xanthones -- chemical compounds thought to have anti-oxidant properties. Mangosteen fruit is very rich in anti-oxidants, and is marketed in the United States as having cancer fighting properties.
Mangosteen fruit may also boost immune system functions, helping your body to heal wounds and prevent bacterial infections. Mangosteen juice, which uses some of the purple skin extracts, tastes a little like Ribena or Vimto.
How to use mangosteens
- You can eat them raw
- You can juice them with or without the shell
- You can make icecream or sorbet with them
- They are a great addition to a fruit salad
How to make a mangosteen smoothie
All you need to make a delicious mangosteen smoothie is the following:
- 1/2 cup of blueberries and raspberries- you can use fresh or frozen but the smoothie will be thicker if you use frozen ones
- 1 banana
- 1/3 cup of yoghurt- you can use plain or flavoured the choice is yours
- 1 cup of orange juice
- 3 mangosteens peeled and roughly chopped
All you do is pop everything into the blender together and blitz until smooth.
How to make a mangosteen sorbet (contains alcohol)
To make a refreshing mangosteen sorbet to enjoy, you need the below:
- 2/3 cup mangosteen, chopped
- 2/3 cup dry champagne
- 1 egg white
- 50 gm sugar
- 1 small lime
To make this dish, first peel the mangosteens and limes, chop or dice the flesh and then push through a fine sieve. Stir the champagne into this puree, and then whip up the egg white until thick and then add the sugar and re-beat. Fold the egg white mixture into the fruit puree then to finish, freeze and serve when needed. Enjoy!
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