New Fruit!

Here in Seattle we have a fairly diverse population, and I particularly enjoy heading over to our International District for Dim Sum or Vietamese food every so often. When my parents were visiting we went there and hit up this wonderful asian grocery store and bought some new fruits that my parents had never tried. Unfortunately, we never ate them and they've been sitting in my fridge this whole time. But I thought I'd share some of these treasures with all of you just for fun. I'm putting the disclaimer out there that since they've been in the fridge for a few weeks, they're not looking as good as they would if you bought them fresh, but I was excited to share with you. I've been lucky with my job to be able to travel to some foreign countries, so I'd had these fruits there. Otherwise I might be a bit unsure about how to eat them.

First up is the Dragon Fruit. Some of you may have seen this in your grocery store and marveled at how beautiful their exterior is. I have - such a lovely fuchia color! But check out the interior. Plain white with black seeds.



This one is overripe really, so the skin just peels away. If you get one that's at the best stage for eating, it'll be a nice clean white just under the skin instead of sort of dingy white.









This isn't my favorite fruit really, even at it's peak of sweetness. I think they're a bit bland and watery, but it's always fun to try something new.


Now THIS is my absolute favorite. Mangosteens. The queen of fruits - that's what they call them in Thailand where I first had them.




I've been seeing these little babies around quite a bit more the last few years, but they seem to be mostly used in juices and supplements. Skip those, and go right for the fruit if you can. These are incredibly delicious and I don't think there's anything comparable to them in our traditional fruits. The proper way to get to the fruit on the inside is to cut along the middle and remove the top. The skin is inedible and really hard. Just eat the white sections on the inside. This one does NOT look as good as they do when they’re ripe. So try to ignore the brown ooky areas. Usually they’re a beautiful pearly white. It looks kind of like an orange and is divided into small sections, several of which will usually have a big seed, so be aware! The flavor is really delicious and different, and the texture is kind of like very ripe mango.





Both of these tend to be a bit pricey because they come from pretty far away, but I think springtime is the best time to go looking for Mangosteens in particular. They’re usually around $7 a pound then. Yeah, expensive, but one or two to try should be enough. They’re worth it!
Anyway, I rocked the challenge on Friday. I won’t find out if I won or not until Sunday, but I already won on a personal level. I’ll post my results soon!