Exploring New Fruits

At a stall in the thorough way of Chinatown, I meant to grab a few fruits for the week but walked away with not only a handful of lychees but also a mesh bag of mangosteen in tow.

Mangosteens

I have never held mangosteens before, let alone tasted them so naturally I forked over for these pricey little suckers at 9 dollars a pound.  They look like wooden Bocce balls donning little hats.

Mangosteen undressed

I managed to split the shell and found a rather unusual (slightly slimey) center.  The flavor was hard to describe – tart, sweet, and sharp.  It actually reminded me a lot of tropical drink flavors.  I suppose the mangosteen is the original but not sure if this curious fruit will become a regular in my weekly fruit rotation.