How to Eat Mangosteen

The mangosteen is a tropical fruit that’s both easy and fun to eat! Peeling open the purple rind and popping out the individual sections of juicy white flesh is a snacktivity everyone can get into.

Mangosteen fruit is easy to eat raw. It can also be incorporated into mangosteen drinks, sweet and savory dishes alike. Mangosteen’s rind can harden during its short shelf life, but you’ll find mangosteen quite easy to cut open.

Keep reading and we’ll tell you the most common ways to prepare and eat mangosteen!

Slicing A Mangosteen

Here are some of the easiest, most common ways of how to slice open a mangosteen:

Score the entire circumference of the mangosteen rind with the tip of a spoon or sharp paring knife. Then, gently twist the rind with your hands and it will easily pop apart. Mangosteen fruit sections will easily separate from the peel. Easy peasy!
Score the mangosteen in half longways, avoiding the stem. Next, press your thumbs into the bottom of the fruit to open the fruit like a clamshell. Then, gently pull the entire ball of fruit out with your fingers.

Mangosteen can be eaten raw, directly from the rind! Fresh mangosteen fruit is an easy way to add flavor to fruit salads, chutneys and salsas, yogurt and to pair with soft, mild cheeses. You may also set aside mangosteen sections for additional preparation. Discard the rind and large pit by tossing them into the compost bin.

Cooking Mangosteen

Mangosteen makes a great snack on its own, but is delicious in salads, chutneys, desserts and savory dishes, too. Mangosteen’s juicy, tropical tartness compliments flavors like coconut, lemongrass, papaya and mango beautifully. Here are some of the most popular cooking methods for mangosteen recipes.

Curry: Mangosteen flesh adds bright, fruity sweetness to rich curry dishes.
Baking: Sections of mangosteen can be baked into cakes, muffins, tarts, creams and custards.
Confection: Mangosteen’s natural sweetness and soft flesh is delicious in jams and jellies, candy making and fruit syrups.

Drinking Mangosteen

Mangosteen makes all kinds of beverages special because of its distinct tropical flavor. Because mangosteen fruits are quite small, it’s difficult to yield large quantities of liquid. That’s why we love using mangosteen as an ingredient in beverage recipes. Drinking mangosteen is a great way to extend the enjoyment of this delicious fruit’s peachy sweet flavor for just a little longer.

Here are some easy ways use mangosteen in your drinks:

Juicing: Remove the mangosteen sections from the rind and remove the large pit found in each fruit. Pour the mangosteen flesh into the juicer to add tropical sweetness to fresh fruit juice recipes.
Cocktails: Mangosteens are rare fruits, so you want to experience their full flavor. Use mangosteen sections in light cocktails where their mango-like sweetness and citrusy tang can be the star of the show..
Syrup: Preserve delicate mangosteen fruit into a syrup to add to water, tea, cocktails, juices and smoothies for weeks! To make delicious alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, use your mangosteens to make a basic syrup.
Smoothies: Pair up mangosteen with fruits like mango, passionfruit in a smoothie for heaven in a glass. Whether you tip a little rum into the recipe is your business.

Tell us, do you like eating or drinking mangosteen more? Show us your favorite ways to prepare and eat mangosteen by tagging us in your culinary masterpieces on Instagram @Fruitstandcom!