[1propionyl]

It's not as uncommon here as tejocotes, but I'm always chuffed to find good looking and not overripe mangosteens at farmers markets or specialty produce suppliers.

They're more common to find at Asian markets, where they often come in mesh bags of a half dozen, but my experience is they're often overripe and their fruit has become slightly translucent and mushy.

You can identify a ripe mangosteen by a rich reddish purple exterior that gives slightly when pressed. If it's darkened to a blackish purple and is very hard to the touch, it is probably over-ripened.

They are very rare at farmer's markets though. Growing them in the USA in most places requires a greenhouse as they need a tropical climate: year round high humidity and a minimum temperature of ~55-60F.