Mangosteen is known as the "queen of fruits", it has a purple skin and white flesh. In the mouth, it is full and juicy, soft and sweet, with a unique aroma.
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Now is the season for mangosteen to go on the market, and those who like mangosteen can't help but want to eat a mouthful. But the price of mangosteen is not cheap, in addition to being delicious, does it have any nutrients worth eating? In this article, let's talk about mangosteen.
What is the nutrition of mangosteen?
Mangosteen fruit is the fruit of the Asian mangosteen tree, also called inverted twist, phoenix, mangji persimmon. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, it is a typical tropical fruit, mainly distributed in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Mangosteen was first introduced in Taiwan in 1919, and then cultivated in the southeastern coastal provinces, and is now also cultivated in Hainan, Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong and Yunnan. The fruit ripening period of Hainan mangosteen is generally 6~7 months, and the fruit ripening period in Thailand is generally 8~9 months. Mangosteen pulp can not only be eaten fresh, but also made into canned food, jam, preserves, jelly, fruit juice, sugar gourd, etc.
Mangosteen fruit has a leather-like dark purple skin with a thickness of about 0.8~1.1 cm, accounting for 52%~68% of the fruit weight; The flesh is white or white translucent, which is the edible part, accounting for 29%~45% of the whole fruit, and the flesh is tender and juicy, sweet and sour, with a pleasant smell, with fruity and floral aroma.
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As for the nutrition of mangosteen, it is not outstanding among fruits.
Its dietary fiber content is only 0.4g/100g, which is not as good as the apples and oranges we commonly eat; Vitamin C is only 1.2 mg/100 g, which is only 1/30 of that of oranges, and potassium is 48 mg/100 g, which is less than 1/5 of bananas.
In addition, although the antioxidant activity of mangosteen is mentioned in the literature, it is mainly attributed to the flavonoids, ketones, anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins in mangosteen bark. Considering that under normal circumstances, mangosteen will not eat skin, so this aspect is of little value to us.
On the whole, when we eat mangosteen, don't expect to get too much nutrition by eating it, just think that it is nutritious and delicious, and you can satisfy your cravings.
However, mangosteen is not low in calories, 72 kcal/100 grams, which is comparable to lychee, higher than the apples, grapes, oranges, peaches, bayberry, strawberries and so on we eat every day, and nearly 3 times that of melons. Moreover, the sugar content of mangosteen is not low, with a carbohydrate content of up to 18 grams per 100 grams, which is nearly 3 times that of bayberry, melon, and lemon.
It is not very friendly to friends who are in the stage of weight control and weight loss, and the edible part of 1 mangosteen is about 15~30 grams, which can be controlled.
Picture: 1 5A grade mangosteen, the edible part is about 23 grams (self-photographed)
Choosing a good mangosteen depends on these
Mangosteen belongs to the Garcinia family Garcinia cambogiaceae. One of the taxonomic characteristics of Garcinia cambogiaceae is that they have vestigial stamens or vestigial pistils. Mangosteen can reproduce asexually, the male flowers are just an ornament, and the female flowers do not need to be pollinated to bear fruit on their own. This type of reproduction is called fusion-free reproduction, which means that the offspring are clones of the mother tree. Therefore, Mangosteen is really the "Queen of Fruits".
Mangosteen's seeds are generally thought to be arils, but it is now thought that like the seeds, it is asexual development of inner cuticle wall cells. Mangosteen's "butt" is hidden in the selection of mangosteen's "password", at the bottom of each mangosteen there is a flower-shaped umbilicus, carefully count the number of "petals" on the umbilicus, you can guess the number of petals of the flesh inside, the umbilical pedicle is the remains of the stigma, and the number of stigma is consistent with the number of mangosteen houses, generally 4~7 pieces.
Pictured: I took it myself
Therefore, when buying mangosteen, be sure to take a look at its "butt" and choose the one with a large number of petals! In addition to being optimistic about the number of petals of mangosteen's "butt", it is also recommended to do the following 3 points.
1
Look at the appearance
Mangosteen with green stalks and sepals and purple-red husks is still fresh. If the sepals are black and the husks are tan, they are not very fresh.
Pictured: I took it myself
2
Pinch it
Although the "skin" of mangosteen is thicker, it is not hard. Fresh mangosteen husks are actually soft, and when pinched, they will be elastic and can recover on their own. If the husk of mangosteen is hard and cannot be pinched, it is not fresh. This is because with the extension of storage time, along with the metabolism of husk cells, the husk will dehydrate and gradually produce more and more lignin, which will become harder and harder.
3
Look at the size
In GB/T 41625-2022 Mangosteen Quality Grade, mangosteen is divided into 3 grades, including large fruit (L), medium fruit (M), and small fruit (S), of which the weight of large fruit single fruit is > 100 grams, medium fruit is 75~100 grams, and small fruit is 50~75 grams.
In the market, merchants divide mangosteen into different grades according to size, quality and weight, including: 2A is a small fruit; 3A and 4A are medium fruits; 5A, 6A is a big fruit, there is no strict definition of this level, the higher the number, the better the quality. The fruit of 2A is very small, only the size of a ping pong ball, and there is not much pulp left after the shelling. If your wallet allows, just rush 5A and 6A, and enjoy eating.
Picture: 1 5A grade mangosteen, 85 grams in the shell (self-photographed)
How to store mangosteen?
Although mangosteen is a tropical fruit, it is recommended to store it at a low temperature. This is because mangosteen is very prone to lignification and browning of the husk after picking, and with the extension of storage time, the husk and pulp will change, and the nutrients will be continuously metabolized and consumed, and the quality will gradually deteriorate.
Some studies compared the changes of mangosteen refrigerated at 4°C and storage at 30°C at room temperature, and found that low temperature 4°C refrigeration can delay the decline of mangosteen's soluble protein, soluble solids, vitamin C and other nutrients, and can also effectively inhibit the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) in fruits, MDA is one of the most important products of membrane lipid peroxidation in the process of plant aging, its production can aggravate the damage of cell membranes, and the accumulation of MDA will cause certain damage to the cytoplasmic membranes and organelles of fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, it is recommended to keep the purchased mangosteen in the refrigerator at 4°C, but do not store it for too long, and eat it within a week at most. Otherwise, the husk will gradually become hard, and the flesh will gradually oxidize and deteriorate, from milky white to transparent white, and then gradually yellow and deteriorate.
Pictured: I took it myself
If it's just transparent, it's still okay to eat, but if it's yellow, don't eat it. Some mangosteen husks will have yellow dots on their husks, which is a normal phenomenon and is characteristic of Garcinia cambogia, which is the resin that flows out of the surface of the plant after it is scratched, and turns yellow after solidification.
Pictured: I took it myself
Summary:
Mangosteen is soft and sweet, tender and juicy, making it a must-see delicacy in summer. It should be reminded that mangosteen is high in calories and not low in sugar, in addition to controlling the amount of good food, you have to rinse your mouth every time you eat mangosteen!
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[2] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table, 6th Edition, Volume 1[M].Peking University Medical Press,2018
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[4] Zou Minghong, Du Liqing, Zeng Hui, Zhang Hanzhou, Luo Lianfang, Lu Chaozhong. Chinese Journal of Tropical Crops,2007,28(4):122-127
[5] GB/T 41625-2022,山竹质量等级[S].
[6] Yu Limei, Liu Zhaoxia, Chen Haiguang, Yang Min. Effects of different storage temperatures on metabolites and pulp quality of mangosteen husk cells[J].Food Science,2013,34(20):318-322.)
Source: Popular Science China