Hese
two tropical fruits are related and both of them are extremely delicious, the Mangosteen often being declared to be "finest fruit in the world." In flavour it combines the delicate yet rich qualities of the pineapple, grape, peach, and strawberry, in form resembling somewhat the pomegranate, though the rind is more pulpy and the pulp itself more juicy and firm. It is at its best uncooked and being slightly laxative may be eaten freely. It may of course be frozen in various simple forms or used with gelatine.
There is an African variety quite similar (Mammea Africana).
The Mammee Apple (Mammea Americana), sometimes called the South American or St. Domingo or wild apricot, is one of the standbys of tropical countries, being delicious in flavour and very useful in its adaptability as a food. Yellow in colour, it sometimes grows to the size of a grape-fruit, its double rind covering a dainty interior, although its outer covering and the seeds with their immediately surrounding pulp are bitter. The firm, aromatic, intermediate pulp, removed from rind and seeds, may be eaten with no special preparation or, uncooked, with wine or cream and sugar. Dropped into boiling syrup, simmered, and served cold, it is delicious, or, pulp cooked down, sugar added in usual proportion, and simmered till thick, made into marmalade or jam. Like the guava, it is susceptible of many variations as a fresh food or preserve.
The Mountain Plum (Rheedia Edulis), is a relative of the mangosteen and bears, also, edible fruit, which are sub-acid and not unlike the ordinary plum of the temperate zones CHAPTER XXX