Thursday, January 24, 2013

Maung-Kut

Jesse announced via email that he stopped at the Talin Market (our big international grocery store that neither of us have ever been to) and got me a "present."  I spent some time at work thinking about what that could be (oyster sauce?) but didn't even come close.  Jesse appeared triumphantly at dinner bearing maung-kut!  I was amazed and delighted.  Maung-kut (along with mango, peach, plumb, and berries) are my favorite fruit and until now I have never seen it anywhere outside of Asia except for at Harrod's in London.  I couldn't wait to crack a few open and they were perfectly ripe and amazing!



Most Americans know maung-kut as mangosteen (maung-kut is its Thai name).  I did a little research on the fruit and was surprised to find that it was banned (something about fruit flies) from being imported into the US until 2007.  Currently, the maung-kut that you can find here is almost exclusively from Thailand, which is probably why it is so expensive ($20 for 9 fruit folks!) -- good thing Jesse did not realize this until he got to the checkout line or I would not be enjoying them right now.  It also, apparently, was dubbed the "queen of tropical fruit" by David Fairchild, which sounds about right to me.

P.S.  Jesse and I ate all of the Maung-kut on the same day that he bought it!

3 comments:

  1. So sweet and romantic (and educational)! Good job, Jesse!

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  2. They went by air that's why it is expensive. I will make sure you get prenty of them next time you come.
    Daddy

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