Mangosteen

12 May 2011 - The mangosteen season is coming! For centuries, those in Southeast Asia have revered the mangosteen, both for its flavor and the suggestion that it promotes good health. The whole mangosteen fruit has been used traditionally to treat a variety of health conditions, actually. As early as 600 AD, scribes recorded the use of the mangosteen in the support and maintenance of good health. Legend has it that Queen Victoria offered knighthood to any subject who could bring her a mangosteen fruit in prime condition. No one succeeded. The virtual impossibility of preserving the fruit during the weeks-long journey prohibited anyone outside of the growing regions from doing so. But, thanks to the Queen’s admirable quest, the fruit achieved the title, “Queen of Fruits,” a name still used around the globe.