Something I’ve really enjoyed this year has been the seasonal produce. I feel like I always know what’s in season based on what is in the produce stand and grocery store. For instance, on the 4th of July, I made the red stripes in my flag with cherries instead of strawberries because that’s what they had. (You can see the fruit flag here: Happy America Day.)

But, since this is China, occasionally I have no idea what’s looking up at me from the fruit stall. Take this funny looking guy for instance.

I asked for the name of this fruit and the sales person told me in Chinese. I put it into the translator app on my phone and it translated to the English words, “Mangosteen.” Which is awesome, except I had never heard of that either. So I put it into my basket to try and looked it up when I got home.

 

 

Turns out it’s mostly a Southeast Asia fruit that was actually banned in the US until a few years ago. It also has an unlikely moniker of “Queen Fruit” because of a rumor that Queen Victoria liked them.

After learning about them (and how to eat one), I cut up ours in our kitchen for breakfast one morning.

Basically you cut through the thick purple part until you get to the white fruit inside and then pop open the purple part and pluck out the white bit inside.

It felt like a small, soft citrus with (I thought) a pear like faint taste. While neither Alex nor I am particularly fond of them, it was a fun thing to throw on the table for breakfast.

We also tried some TimTams our friend brought us back from Australia. He said the way to do it was to bite off both corners and then sip coffee through like a straw. When I did this, the straw lasted approximately 2.5 seconds and then became a river of chocolate running down my face. Maybe I need to listen to the instructions again….

 

Anyways, that’s all for now. I hope you’ll try a mangosteen if you see one!