Mangosteen

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) is a slow-growing Southeast Asian tree that fruits only after a decade of patience and only in narrow tropical bands. The pay-off is the most sought-after fruit in the world — a hard, port-purple shell hiding snow-white segments arranged like the cloves of a garlic bulb.

The flavour is genuinely difficult to pin down. It reads as lychee, peach and perfumed sorbet at once, with a soft acidity and a clean, almost floral finish. Texture is yielding without being mushy. Until 2007 fresh mangosteen was banned in the US over fruit-fly concerns, which only sharpened the cult around it.

Score the shell around the equator — don't cut all the way through — then twist apart like an Oreo. The segments lift out clean. Larger ones contain a soft seed; smaller segments are seed-free. Eat at room temperature; chilling mutes the perfume.