Three questions...

1) Given the above link, has anyone seen them sold in US / SF Bay Area?
2) Are they banned anywhere else besides the US?
3) Can I get a mangosteen in London or Tokyo?

We got some from a street vendor in Shanghai when we lived there. You look at the outside and say "No, thanks," but taste the fruit and buy several.

Are they also known by another name? xxx-stein?

Well, I've heard it called "mangoostee" (man-gooo-stee) in India...

Does Anyone Know Where To Buy Mangosteens In The Us Or Where Outside Of The Us They Are Sold ?

Still Belong To This Website- I Noticed All The Postings Are Dated In 2005 ? Your Name Came Cuz I Was Tryng To Find Out About Buying Mangosteens.......-g

Fresh? Don't think they are allowed FRESH in North America. I remember reading somewear that they are afraid of some insects or something like that.

They tasted them fresh in either Hong Kong or Taipei. Can't remember which one. Didn't know what they were until my host explained it to me.

I see them on occassion in Chinese/Asian supermarkets in Toronto.

I did a quick search/scan on a food board and found the following interesting info:


http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...3226496.html?4

http://www.panoramicfruit.com/index.htm

You might try:
http://www.melissasfarmfreshproduce.com/
or
http://www.baldorfood.com/

Saw packages of dried Mangosteen last week at TJ's

I, too, fell in love with mangosteens while in Singapore last year. I've tried buying them from some of the Asian grocery stores in Falls Church, VA (where they're available frozen), but they've been absolutely awful. I imagine the cold kills any hitchhiking bugs... but it also radically alters the taste and texture of this wonderful fruit.

I recommend seeking out mangosteen juice as an alternative. I saw several companies with mangosteen products at 2006 food-industry trade shows so keep your eyes open as you swing through your favorite grocery store.

Mangosteens carry the dreaded Med Fly and so are banned for import into the US.

There are some growers here in the US (florida and CA) also there are some in Hawaii (they cannot be shipped to the mainland because Hawaii is infested by the Med Fly) So if you are heading to HI you can get them pretty easily there I think. the domestic ones are very hard to find and very expensive. The frozen version are simply not worth buying. It is becoming easier to find the juice since it is getting a lot of attention from the supplement community for its antioxidant properties.

If you travel at all to Canada you can generally find the fruit there - I have gotten them in Toronto and Vancouver in the fruit and veg shops in Chinatown and in public markets. there is no problem importing them in Canada since the climate (at least until now) prevents the flys from surviving and creating an infestation. I have also found them in Sao Paulo.

I live in NYC and since there are periodic reports of mangosteens in Chinatown I always keep my eyes open for them - never seen them even in the "real" chinese markets. The good news is that you can find longans, rambutans etc so not all is lost on the delicious tropical fruit hunt.

there are some good articles in the NY Times archives, especially those written by RW "Johnnie" Apple for those of us who crave them.

PS - I have also bought them in London - have found them in fruit and veg on the Brompton Road, have aslo seen them in harrods and Fortnum and Mason - not really very affordable in those last 2 locations - even before the dollare tanked!

I actually saw them fresh at an asian grocery in Columbus OH a few weeks ago... had no clue if they were any good, so I didn't buy any at the time. If I had known what a rare find it was, I may have gotten some.

I have gotten them - rarely - at Ranch 99 (or is 99 Ranch?) in Daly City, usually in Sept-Oct if I remember. They were expensive, around $1-2 each, and a little mealy. Reminiscent of but certainly not an exact match for the mangosteen we know and love.

Ahh, I have memories of relaxing Balinese mornings on a hotel room balcony, a bag of fruits from the local market at my feet and a book in my hands, chin dripping with various juices - mango, mangosteen, rambutan, snakeskin fruit, papaya and most certainly (in Bali at least), PASSION FRUIT.

You may want to try a Mexican market as they will have a large variety of tropical fruits.

Apparently they grow one (or try) at the Fullerton Arboretum in Orange County, CA. I read this in the Orange County Register today. Here's an exerpt from an article about the cold spell we've been having.


"Arboretum workers had been worried about the freeze, primarily about the tropical and subtropical plants, like a mangosteen from Southeast Asia, that seemed unlikely to survive even normal winters in Fullerton.

"But here it is, just doing fine," Dyment points out. Arboretum experts learned some lessons from the freeze, he said, including that plants like the mangosteen, which were surrounded by other vegetation, were protected from the cold."

The full article is:http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister...le_1551116.php
I think registration is required, but it's free.

So I guess you can grow them in CA, albeit difficult.

Steve