When we were first given this assignment in class, I gave it some thought about where I would go to explore exotic fruit. After all, having travelled to many different places around the world, I've also tried many different things. So I Googled "Best Place to Buy Exotic Fruit in Toronto" and it directed me to the following website - www.nowtoronto.com/food/story.cfm?content=189841. It directed me to an article that listed the Top 5 Downtown Toronto Fruit Markets. And guess what? The Number 1 spot was Phil's Place, right inside St. Lawrence Market. I was hoping to go to a different location in the city, but why go somewhere else when the best location is just steps away from the college, right? So off I went on my fruit hunting adventure to St. Lawrence Market, in search of Phil's Place.
As soon as I arrived at Phil's Place, I scanned all the fruit bins and quickly found some fruit that I had heard of before but had never tried.
I also found some ground berries and since I couldn't decide what to try, I bought them all! And this is what I brought home with me...
Although I hadn't eaten any of them before, I decided to go with the most out-of-the-ordinary fruit. The cactus pear looked like a pear with prickly cactus needles. The ground berries looked like little yellow-orange coloured baby tomatoes and I thought the quince looked like an apple. So I decided to continue to do research on the... MANGOSTEEN!
I had heard of all the fruit I brought home before, but the mangosteen intrigued me the most. At Phil's Place, I chose one that had a smooth exterior and was a beautiful maroon colour and had no visible marks or discolouration.
According to Wikipedia, the purple mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. It grows mainly in Southeast Asia, and also in tropical South American countries such as Colombia, in the state of Kerala in India and in Puerto Rico. A tropical tree, the mangosteen must be grown in consistently warm conditions, as exposure to temperatures below 0C for prolonged periods will usually kill a mature plant. There is a legend about Queen Victoria offering a reward of 100 pounds sterling to anyone who could deliver to her the fresh fruit. Although this legend can be traced to a 1930 publication by the fruit explorer, David Fairchild, it is not substantiated by any known historical document, yet is probably responsible for the uncommon designation of mangosteen as the "Queen of Fruit". Fresh mangosteen is marketed for only a short period of six to ten weeks due to its seasonal nature. It is mainly grown by smallholders and sold at fruit stalls by roadsides. Its irregular, short supply leads to wide price fluctuations throughout its season. Additionally, there is no standard product quality assessment or grading system, making international trade of the fruits difficult. The mangosteen still remains rare in Western markets, though its popularity is increasing, and it is often sold at a high price. As can be seen from my photo above, mangosteens are currently selling at Phil's Place for $9.99 / lb.
-- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_mangosteen
I had heard of all the fruit I brought home before, but the mangosteen intrigued me the most. At Phil's Place, I chose one that had a smooth exterior and was a beautiful maroon colour and had no visible marks or discolouration.
According to Wikipedia, the purple mangosteen (Garcinia Mangostana) is a tropical evergreen tree believed to have originated in the Sunda Islands and the Moluccas of Indonesia. It grows mainly in Southeast Asia, and also in tropical South American countries such as Colombia, in the state of Kerala in India and in Puerto Rico. A tropical tree, the mangosteen must be grown in consistently warm conditions, as exposure to temperatures below 0C for prolonged periods will usually kill a mature plant. There is a legend about Queen Victoria offering a reward of 100 pounds sterling to anyone who could deliver to her the fresh fruit. Although this legend can be traced to a 1930 publication by the fruit explorer, David Fairchild, it is not substantiated by any known historical document, yet is probably responsible for the uncommon designation of mangosteen as the "Queen of Fruit". Fresh mangosteen is marketed for only a short period of six to ten weeks due to its seasonal nature. It is mainly grown by smallholders and sold at fruit stalls by roadsides. Its irregular, short supply leads to wide price fluctuations throughout its season. Additionally, there is no standard product quality assessment or grading system, making international trade of the fruits difficult. The mangosteen still remains rare in Western markets, though its popularity is increasing, and it is often sold at a high price. As can be seen from my photo above, mangosteens are currently selling at Phil's Place for $9.99 / lb.
-- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_mangosteen
Sight - The mangosteen looks like a handcrafted wooden object. The fruit is round and about the size of a clementine. It is maroon, purplish in colour and the leaves are olive green. The actual edible fruit on in the inside is a milky white colour. It looks squishy like lychees and slightly slimy.
Hearing - The exterior of the fruit is hard and wooden and it makes a tapping sound.
Touch - The outside is tough, wooden and waxy. As expected, when you pick up the fruit, it is slimy and it feels like a ripe banana that has been frozen and then thawed.
Smell - The exterior of the fruit smells slightly perfumy and musty, almost plum-like. The interior of the fruit has a different scent, a combination of peaches and lychees.
Taste - The taste is even more complex than the smell! The primary taste is sweet with slight sour notes. The flavours are a combination of peaches, lychees, strawberries, citrus. I could be imagining it, but I think I almost detected the flavour of sour cherry ice cream towards the end.
Cooking Method - Since this is a delicate fruit, I wouldn't recommend using any dry heat methods at all. I think it's best eaten raw to preserve the integrity of the flavours. If I were to cook it, I would likely add the fruit to a complementary poaching liquid in order to fully extract the flavours and then make a sauce or a puree from it.
Mangosteen Recipes - I found quite a few recipes online, most of them being desserts. I do agree that it is best to use the fruit in a sweet preparation vs. a savoury one. As such, I'm sharing a recipe for Mangosteen Yogurt Pannacotta --
100mL mangosteen puree
200mL yogurt
200mL cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sheets gelatine
* Soak the gelatine in cold water.
* Whisk yogurt, cream, mangosteen puree and vanilla together.
* In a small pan, heat the sugar with a few tablespoons of water to dissolve the crystals. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and stir the gelatine through.
* Pour into a bowl, cool slightly then mix a few tablespoons of the cream mixture through to cool it.
* Mix the gelatine through the rest of the cream. Pour into 4 moulds and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
-- www.pikeletandpie.com/2010/05/mangosteen-yoghurt-pannacotta/
What I've learned from this experience is that there is a whole world of discovery still out there for us to explore. Even though I travelled to quite a few places in the world, there are still so many foods to try that are unique and likely don't exist where we live. Thankfully, globalization has allowed for the importing of certain foods and although the pricepoint might be high, we still benefit from trying unique flavour profiles. As aspiring chefs, utilizing unique products such as the mangosteen might help us create the next amazing food trend!
Hearing - The exterior of the fruit is hard and wooden and it makes a tapping sound.
Touch - The outside is tough, wooden and waxy. As expected, when you pick up the fruit, it is slimy and it feels like a ripe banana that has been frozen and then thawed.
Smell - The exterior of the fruit smells slightly perfumy and musty, almost plum-like. The interior of the fruit has a different scent, a combination of peaches and lychees.
Taste - The taste is even more complex than the smell! The primary taste is sweet with slight sour notes. The flavours are a combination of peaches, lychees, strawberries, citrus. I could be imagining it, but I think I almost detected the flavour of sour cherry ice cream towards the end.
Cooking Method - Since this is a delicate fruit, I wouldn't recommend using any dry heat methods at all. I think it's best eaten raw to preserve the integrity of the flavours. If I were to cook it, I would likely add the fruit to a complementary poaching liquid in order to fully extract the flavours and then make a sauce or a puree from it.
Mangosteen Recipes - I found quite a few recipes online, most of them being desserts. I do agree that it is best to use the fruit in a sweet preparation vs. a savoury one. As such, I'm sharing a recipe for Mangosteen Yogurt Pannacotta --
100mL mangosteen puree
200mL yogurt
200mL cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sheets gelatine
* Soak the gelatine in cold water.
* Whisk yogurt, cream, mangosteen puree and vanilla together.
* In a small pan, heat the sugar with a few tablespoons of water to dissolve the crystals. When the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and stir the gelatine through.
* Pour into a bowl, cool slightly then mix a few tablespoons of the cream mixture through to cool it.
* Mix the gelatine through the rest of the cream. Pour into 4 moulds and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
-- www.pikeletandpie.com/2010/05/mangosteen-yoghurt-pannacotta/
What I've learned from this experience is that there is a whole world of discovery still out there for us to explore. Even though I travelled to quite a few places in the world, there are still so many foods to try that are unique and likely don't exist where we live. Thankfully, globalization has allowed for the importing of certain foods and although the pricepoint might be high, we still benefit from trying unique flavour profiles. As aspiring chefs, utilizing unique products such as the mangosteen might help us create the next amazing food trend!