How long do mangosteens last?

Mangosteens are exceptional fruit and are up there in nutritional value and flavor. The outside of the mangosteen is hard and dense. If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t know it was an edible fruit. But once you break through the tough exterior shell, you will find a cluster of fruit surrounding a seed. It’s sweet and tart, refreshing, and a delight to eat. Do mangosteens have a short shelf life?

Did you know that mangosteens have xanthones? Xanthones are exclusive to mangosteens and fight infection, allergies, pain, and skin disorders. Queen Victoria offered £100.00 to anyone who could deliver her fresh mangosteen. That’s the equivalent of £15,000 today, a little over $17,000, not a bad deal if it could be done.

In this article, we will examine if mangosteens have a long shelf life and if they can be stored successfully. We answer many frequently asked questions to bring you factual answers to your questions.

Let’s get into it.

Do mangosteens expire?

Yes, they do. Despite the hard exterior of the mangosteen, the fruit is delicate and can have a short shelf life.

If you have deep purple mangosteens, you will know they are ripe and sweet, but they are also almost at the end of their edible life. If you want mangosteens to have any type of shelf life in your home, you are better off buying green mangosteens.

Green mangosteens have not ripened and will last longer in your home. Green mangosteen will last for a few weeks if stored in a cool, dry pantry, whereas the purple mangosteen will last for a couple of days, three days outside, before the fruit starts to rot.

If you are fortunate to be able to buy fresh mangosteens, you should consume them immediately and taste the gorgeous fruit, and the seeds are edible also.

Place ripe mango steens in the fridge. It won’t add too much shelf-life to the fruit, but it will last for a couple of days in the fridge, and the fruit is perfect and delicious when chilled.

You may have noticed how expensive mangosteens are to buy. There always seems to be a premium to pay for this tropical fruit. But when you realize that the mangosteen only grows in a limited area of just 20° either side of the equator, you understand just how unique this fruit is.

However, your # 1 online shopping company can ship you mangosteens to your door. You can find them in some grocery stores around mid to late October.

Do mangosteens need to be refrigerated?

If you are paying a premium for mangosteens, refrigerate them. Placing your mangosteens in the fridge will make them last slightly longer, and you may gain an extra day from these incredible tropical fruits.

There is a drawback to storing mangosteens in the fridge. The fruit becomes more delicate and bruises easily. The mangosteen can also lose some flavors, so make sure your fridge is not very cold.

Under normal circumstances, if you lived in an area where mangosteen was readily available during the season, you would keep it in a fruit bowl or just eat the fruit when you have it.

It is not essential to put mangosteen in the fridge. It will keep in a fruit bowl and last for a couple of days. In countries where mangosteens grow, there are no cool pantries. The ambient temperature outside is always 86℉ +.

Do mangosteens need to be covered?

Mangosteens grow in thick hard shells to protect the fruit from predators. Covering mangosteen will not deliver any further shelf life for the fruit.

Of course, grocery stores and online shipping companies will cover the mangosteens in a blister pack. It’s more for presentation purposes than anything else.

At home, there is no requirement to cover mangosteens in the fridge or store them in a cool pantry.

How long can mangosteens sit out?

It depends. The mangosteen will continue to ripen off the tree, so it is worth buying green mangos and letting them ripen in your home.

Green mangosteens may sit out for a couple of weeks before they turn purple, indicating the fruit is ripe.

Purple mangosteens have a short shelf life and will last for a couple of days. Eating purple mangosteens when they are ripe is advisable to prevent the fruit from spoiling.

You don’t have to worry about bacteria load damaging the fruit. They are contained in a thick shell where bacteria will not affect them. It’s rare to open mangosteen and not eat it, so bacteria loads are irrelevant when it sits out in your home.

Will unopened mangosteen go bad?

Yes, It’s a delicate tropical fruit and only has a short shelf life of a couple of days, three max if stored in the fridge. After this, the mangosteen will continue to ripen (you can eat overripe mangosteens) but at some point, the fruit will rot and become inedible.

\if the fruit still looks ok and does not smell bad, you can use mangosteens in smoothies and other recipes. Don’t waste this precious fruit. It’s expensive and delicious.

How long do mangosteens last in the fridge?

Mangosteens should not be stored in the fridge, you can store ripe mangosteen to chill the flesh, and they will last for a couple of days, three days max in the fridge.

Store mangosteen in a cool environment at 50℉. An unripe mangosteen can last for four weeks, and ripe mangosteen may last for four or five days.

There is no doubt that chilled mangosteen tastes sublime, but if you leave mangosteen s in the fridge, they will become mushy and lose texture and flavor, which would be a pity for this expensive tropical fruit.

Unripe mangosteens will extend the shelf life in the fridge but not for long. If you can avoid refrigeration, do so, but if not, place unripe mangosteens in the fridge for around 25 days.

Does frozen mangosteen go bad?

Mangosteens may seem like an enigma. They have a short shelf life and can’t be frozen conventionally because the fruit is so delicate that the ice crystal formations would make it so much and unappetizing it’s hardly worth the effort.

However, if you have a lot of mangosteens that are ripe and can’t be eaten, it would be sacrilegious to throw them out.

So, you can remove the fruit from the outer husk, remove the seeds, and place the fruits into a freezer bag. If you have enough, this is definitely worth the effort.

Once you have enough fruits in the freezer bag, expel the air from the bag and place the mangosteen fruit in the freezer. Mangosteen fruit will lose its texture completely, and extended freezing will cause the fruit to lose its flavor profile, so only freeze for two months.

When you retrieve the mangosteen from the freezer it will seem watery when thawed, but no worries because this will be one of the best smoothies you and your friends have ever tasted.

It may not seem so exciting, but it’s better than discarding the fruits, and mangosteen fruit smoothies are awe-inspiring.

How do you tell if mangosteen has gone bad?

Some may suggest you can tell by weight, but this is misleading. Mangosteens are not heavy despite their tough exterior shell.

Ripe mangosteens are purple, and overripe mangosteens change color, so if your mangosteen is brown and squishy, the chances are it’s gone bad. Only choose mangosteens that are green and turning purple or fruit that is fully ripe and purple.

What should mangosteen look like inside?

When you cut open mangosteen, cut it around the center of the fruit, and use a serrated paring knife to cut the hard exterior safely. The exterior will pop off easily with a slight twisting action, and the interior of the mangosteen will look bright and vibrant with the fruit clustered in the center of the fruit.

There will be six segments, each containing a seed, and sometimes the seeds are soft. They add a nice contrast to the sweet tartness of the fruit. But the seeds are edible, so go for it.

The white flesh of the fruit is a little firm but tastes glorious.

Who should not eat mangosteen?

Mangosteen has some remarkable properties, one of which is that it reduces the coagulants in your blood. If you are heading for surgery or have a bleeding disorder, you should consult your doctor before eating or continuing to eat mangosteens.

Final thoughts

This incredible tropical fruit has a fantastic flavor and a relatively short shelf life, but it should not put you off from eating mangosteens.

If you buy mangosteens, choose the greener fruits. They are not ripe but will ripen in your home. They can last up to a month and two weeks when ripe.

Storing mangosteens in the fridge is not advisable, but if it’s the best option, you have to take it and enjoy the fruits.