Does the mangosteen turn transparent mean it is bad? Remember these 4 points when choosing mangosteen, and don’t waste money anymore!

As the weather gets hotter, mangosteens are quietly available. Mangosteens, known as the queen of fruits, are not cheap. A small box can easily cost tens of dollars. In order to save money, many people buy mangosteens but don't want to eat them all at once. They put them in the refrigerator and eat them several times. To be honest, I have done this before, but I was surprised to find that I couldn't even crack the shell of the mangosteen after a week, let alone eat it. What's going on?

What is mangosteen?

Mangosteen is a plant of the genus Garcinia in the family Garcinia. If you are a fan of Chinese painting, you must be familiar with the name Garcinia, which is actually a yellow pigment commonly used in Chinese painting. Yes, pigments and plants are related - the yellow pigment Garcinia comes from the resin secreted on the surface of Garcinia plants.

If you scratch a few lines on the mangosteen shell with your fingernail, you will be surprised to find yellow mucus seeping out of its surface after a while. This is garcinia. So...if you eat a lot of mangosteen every year, you can also use these shells to collect some garcinia. Although you can't sell it for a high price, it is also great for painting. But I would like to remind you in advance that garcinia is very difficult to clean when it gets on clothes. Remember to wear cheap clothes when trying it, so as not to lose the watermelon while picking up sesame seeds.

Image source: Tuchong Creative

Mangosteen is one of the better plants in the genus Garcinia. It not only produces large and delicious fruits, but also does not require pollination. It can bear fruit through parthenogenesis. Although mangosteen will actively and seriously bloom large and white flowers in every flowering season, attracting bees to compete around, there is actually no need for these flowers to bloom. Most of the time, mangosteen flowers bloom for nothing and wither on their own without waiting for pollination. After the flowers wither, the fruits of mangosteen slowly grow out. They are light green or even white at first, then slowly expand and gradually turn red. When they are fully mature, they will turn purple-red.

How has mangosteen changed?

The newly-released mangosteens are so delicious. Just squeeze them with two fingers and the purple shell will crack open, revealing the tender white flesh. The flesh is smooth, tender, and sweet, and the juice is so abundant that it will flow down the corners of your mouth. No wonder it sells for dozens of dollars a small box.

But the shell is not always so easy to open. If you leave the mangosteen for more than 5 days, you will find that the shell, which was extremely soft at first, is actually as hard as a tree trunk. It takes a sharp knife to cut it open with great effort. What's going on? Has the mangosteen mutated?

There is no question of mutation. Mangkhut basically "committed suicide".

The mangosteen shell is about 0.8mm to 1cm, which is a very thick-skinned fruit. This thick skin will continue to change during storage. As the shell cells metabolize, the shell will gradually produce more and more lignin. When the lignin accumulates to a certain level, the mangosteen shell becomes lignified. If you keep a mangosteen for more than half a month, its hardness is basically comparable to that of a tree trunk.

In addition to the changes in the shell, the mangosteen flesh will also change. The flesh cells, like the shell cells, are constantly undergoing a metabolic process. The changes in the flesh are mainly cell autolysis. In simple terms, the degradation enzymes that exist in the mangosteen cells will destroy the antiseptic film on the surface of the mangosteen flesh cells. Without the barrier of this film, the high-sugar juice will flow freely and out.

When this autolysis phenomenon first occurs, part of the mangosteen flesh will change from milky white to transparent white. At this time, the mangosteen flesh is called glass bamboo and can be eaten, but it is not as fresh as pure white flesh. If you wait for a while longer, yellow spots will appear on the flesh. At this time, the mangosteen is no longer edible and has a strange smell. If you wait for a while longer, all the flesh will turn into an ugly yellow-brown color and will be completely inedible.

The hardening of the mangosteen shell and the suicide of the flesh are basically carried out at the same time. Therefore, if the skin of a mangosteen is soft, then its flesh must be very fresh. If its skin is slightly hard, it may have been in the state of glass bamboo. If its shell is so hard that even a knife cannot pry it open, then you can give up, because it is inedible even if you pry it open.

This is actually a small point in choosing mangosteen. By pinching the peel, you can easily judge the freshness of mangosteen. In addition, you can also choose mangosteen according to the following points:

1. Look at the level

A is the grade of mangosteen, 2A is small, 3A and 4A are medium, and 5A and 6A are large. If you want to eat it yourself, 3A and 4A are better choices, the price is not that high, and the variety is better. Although 2A fruits are cheap, they are too small. If you really want to choose them, don't expect too much flesh.

2. Look at the sepals

Sepals are also an indicator of mangosteen freshness. The harder and greener the sepals are, the fresher the mangosteen is. If the sepals are also soft and brown, then the mangosteen is probably not fresh.

3. Look at the little flower of the butt

Friends who often eat mangosteen will find that the petals of mangosteen are not evenly distributed, basically one big petal and several small ones. If you open the mangosteen and find a big petal, you will always be very satisfied. But in fact, from the perspective of the amount of flesh, the big petal is not cost-effective - under the seemingly full flesh, there is a big pit hidden. If you really want to eat mangosteen to your heart's content, it is more satisfying to have small petals evenly distributed.

It is not difficult to choose a mangosteen with many petals and a lot of flesh. Turn over the mangosteen and look at the skin. The number of petals of the small flower on its butt is actually the number of petals of the flesh inside the mangosteen. Mangosteen generally has 4-8 petals. The more petals on the butt, the more small petals there are. Therefore, 8-petal mangosteen is definitely the king of flesh. If you come across it, you must pick it up and take it home to try.

Finally, I wish everyone can pick the freshest mangosteen with more flesh and fewer cores. Of course, don’t forget to eat it quickly, don’t give the mangosteen a chance to commit suicide!

Author: Hydra

Reviewer: Wang Kang, Director of the Science Museum of the National Botanical Garden