Lemon drop mangosteen

What it is

Its botanical name is Garcinia intermedia; older books also call it Rheedia edulis. In Costa Rica’s Guanacaste area, the fruit is about 1.8 cm (¾ in) long. Its thin skin peels away easily, and a cut releases yellow latex, a sticky sap. There is a little juicy, sweet-and-sour pulp around one or two hard seeds.

Where it comes from

The tree comes from humid forests between southern Mexico and Panama, on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides of Central America. In Michoacán, Mexico, it grows in home gardens in Santiago Acahuato. It has also travelled to Puerto Rico and the Philippines. In the continental United States, trees grow in Homestead, Florida.

How it's eaten where it grows

In some areas of Mexico, people eat the fruit at home and sell it in regional markets. At Cold River Homestead in Costa Rica, fresh fruit is a snack: pop out the pulp, suck it off the seeds and spit the seeds out. The peeled fruit also becomes jam there: warming loosens the pulp, a colander catches the seeds, and equal volumes of pulp and sugar cook together without added pectin.

In Puerto Rico, Nydia E. Vicente, who calls it cherry mangosteen, makes aguas frescas from it: the peeled whole fruit goes into water in the freezer for several hours, and its sharp acid spreads into the drink with no sugar needed.

How it's grown

The tree can reach 20 m (66 ft), but it can begin bearing fruit just two or three years after its seed sprouts. In Central America, it also serves as a shade tree and a garden ornamental. At Zirimícuaro in Michoacán, a small orchard grows from seed collected in the home gardens of Santiago Acahuato.

When and where you'll find it

In San Andrés Tuxtla, Veracruz, the traditional local-market season usually runs from August to November. Costa Rican fruit usually matures from late January to March. In some areas of Mexico, the fruit goes from home gardens to household tables and regional markets. In Mexico it is also called limoncillo; in Costa Rica, jorco.