Eating Fruit Is Not a Crime (But Selling It Might Be)
Mangosteens make such a lightning-quick appearance on the New York produce scene that they’re very easy to miss– partly because they aren’t grown in the quantities that oranges, apples, or even lychees are, and partly because they’re illegal to import fresh into the US. When you do spot them, you’ll usually find them in Asian markets, often in an unlabeled container or cleverly disguised among the eggplants, which they resemble if you squint your eyes. This weekend, we found several produce vendors hawking fresh mangosteens in Chinatown. One kept them in a large white bucket next to his chair– a bucket he covered up in a flash when he saw me eyeing them, while the others were more brazen about their trade. And in fairness, some of them may actually be selling legal mangosteens: pre-frozen fruits or fresh ones from Hawaii or Puerto Rico.
But really, we doubt it. Frozen mangosteens give themselves away immediately because their internal flesh turns mushy and translucent, almost clear, when it is thawed. None of the five fruits we purchased on Baxter Street appeared to have been frozen. Then there’s the domestic mangosteen that avoids the ban because it is treated for pest infestations more thoroughly than its Asian cousins– in theory, we’d find these in every local supermarket, but in practice, the mangosteens grown domestically get shipped off to a more lucrative market: Japan. So unless our Chinatown produce vendor managed to get his hands on a case or two of these prime fruits, we’ re guilty of buying contraband fruit.
Yet despite my concerns about exotic bug infestations, I’m having a hard time feeling bad about it, because the fruit is absolutely luscious. Inside the tough purple skin (pericarp) sit several brilliantly white wedges of edible fruit that taste a bit like a tangy peach, but with the texture of a ripe cherry. There are aromatic high-note flavors and scents at play here, as well, odors that call to mind passion fruits and blackberries. The pericarp is also edible and rich in micronutrients, but it tastes intensely tannic and unpleasant, so juice manufacturers often purée the entire fruit (skin and all) together and add sweeteners to make it palatable. If you’ve only tasted purple mangosteen juice, you’ve never really tasted the best part of the fruit.
Clearly, we would never urge you to become a fruit outlaw, so in order to help you avoid any produce-related legal trouble in the future, you should probably studiously avoid the open-air vegetable markets on Baxter Street, Mulberry Street, and at the corner of Grand & Chrystie Streets, where a pound of fresh mangosteens costs about $9 (4-6 fruits). Consider this a warning, not a recommendation. No way. Stay far, far away, especially if you want to avoid getting caught with some of the summer’s most delicious and elusive fruit.
The mangosteens that you are referring to might be simply frozen and thawed, as are all of the mangosteens that I have ever seen for sale in New York. The vendors generally won’t tell you the truth. I asked the woman selling them on the east side of Mulberry last week if they were fresh, and she answered yes, but it was easy to look at the fruit to tell that she was lying — that is if you know what the fresh fruit looks like. The frozen fruits are easy enough to discern, as although they are mangosteen shaped, they barely look like mangosteens anymore, with a pale leathery look, and a dried out and faded calyx. Although I am sometimes tempted to buy them now and again, tasting them removes all doubt that they are not fresh. The vendors play the same tricks with durian, which are also sold frozen and thawed as “fresh,” and with which you can’t even get a general sense of what that fruit really tastes like.
Don’t accept this state of affairs. Write your federal reprsentatives and demand your right to eat wholesome food, and fight to end these absurd bans, which prevent those in the United States from enjoying many of the worlds delicacies.
Comment by Makanmata — July 19, 2006 @ 7:38 am
Makanmata,
Yes, some of them might well have been frozen– we’ve bought mangosteens that have been very grainy and translucent inside, and we’ve been disappointed. However, a dried calyx isn’t necessarily the indicator of a fresh fruit, as the calyx remains green only briefly after picking, and even day-old, unfrozen mangosteens often have browning leaves and stems. I think it’s a crapshoot with the New York vendors– some of the fruits on the street are fresh, indistinguishable from the manifestly fresh mangosteens we’ve eaten abroad and across the border in Canada.
You also bring up one other very important point: with fruit that might be genuinely forbidden, caveat emptor applies more than ever. Thanks for the very useful comment!
Comment by Nosher — July 19, 2006 @ 9:47 am
wow…i haven’t had a mangosteen in years! Just looking at that delicious photo of the cut open one makes my mouth water so much, thinking about the tangy juicy sweetness and soft smooth slippery texture. I love that they form little round slices and you can pop them in your mouth easily. I aim to become a fruit outlaw as soon as possible! Thanks for the tip!
Comment by chicken — July 20, 2006 @ 10:37 pm
The only time I get to eat yummy mangosteens are when I’m in Bangkok. The few times I’ve seen them for sale in Chinatown, they’ve been of the defrosted variety and I’m not too keen on those.
Hey since we’re talking of tropical/SE Asian fruits, how about a post on durian? Frozen durian ice cream. Yum.
Comment by distar — July 21, 2006 @ 10:13 pm
From the comments section of Gothamist (by Smitty)
When people buy ‘em, it gives incentive for more to be illegally brought into the US, and consequently more of a risk of an asian fruit fly devestation. good job.
Comment by jmchez — July 23, 2006 @ 12:09 pm
(I also posted this on Gothamist.)
Just took a bike ride through Chinatown looking for this fruit. I hit up about 10 produce spots. I was met with either: 1) “speak-no-English” shrugs; 2) feigned ignorance; or 3) indignant denials that they would ever carry the fruit (although they may have suspected me as some fruit-focused law officer).
However, one guy was pretty forthcoming. He said they’re tough to find and that he gets them on occasion but never displays them — you have to ask. He said that he didn’t know of anyone having them right now, but that I should check back. He said that they are almost exclusively purchased by Thai… logical since it’s from Thailand. He also testified to their delicious-ness.
Despite Smitty’s excellent and agreed-upon point, I doubt we’ll be able to put a stop to their smuggling… since I suspect the NYC Thai community 1) reads this site or 2) gives a shit.
Comment by NuYawka — July 23, 2006 @ 3:01 pm
NuYawka,
I’m not even a little bit surprised at what happened to you in Chinatown– just like the fruit seller who kept covering his bucket of mangosteens, other vendors are probably also likely to keep the fruit out of eyesight of anyone who they suspect might know it’s illegal to sell.
Comment by Nosher — July 23, 2006 @ 6:10 pm
[…] via NYCnosh […]
Pingback by We Don’t Smell » Forbidden Fruit — July 24, 2006 @ 11:17 am
I was down in Chinatown and asked around. I didn’t see/get any Mangosteens, but they are selling Dragon Fruit. It wasn’t cheap: about $3 to $6 a pound. That works out to one decent sized fruit. The best specimens I saw were available in front of the Hong Kong Supermarket on Pike and East Broadway.
I’m pretty certain they were frozen on ther way over, though. A few specimens felt unnaturally cold. Thhey tasted ok, though.
Comment by Scatalogics — July 27, 2006 @ 11:59 am
Back home in Malaysia and around South East Asia, this fruit is grown abundantly everywhere; even my own backyard. We have a tree in our garden and it’s called “manggis” in Malay. They’re extremely sweet (depending on the variety & species) and usually bears fruits once every 6 months i.e. June & December, in my garden that is! Be careful of the skin though. The reddish black colour is a dye-like substance when comes in contact with water or the fruit’s juices. It turns dark brown when it dries up.
Comment by Serenity73 — July 28, 2006 @ 8:58 am
I just returned to canada from a month in indonesia where i picked “manggis” off trees or we bought a dozen for 50 cents. I am going through withdrawl right now, and haven’t found them yet in chinese markets. i am going to keep trying! i never acquired a taste for durian, unfortunately, as it seems to be everywhere!
Comment by alida — August 8, 2006 @ 8:59 pm
Thanks for this post, ive been on a wild search for mangosteens since 1997!
Comment by foodie — August 9, 2006 @ 2:08 pm
All: Could anyone like e-mail me and tell me where you found the best leads in Chinatown? Everytime I go there, I’m on the look out for any exotic fruits to try out, and am dissapointed with all the everyday fruits!
Would love to find Lanzones a.k.a. Lanson, Langsat, or Dokong!
BTW, I just found this blog and I already love it!
Comment by MasPinaSarap — August 12, 2006 @ 2:26 am