In my eagerness to make some mangosteen jam a few weeks ago, I looked the other way and bought 10 kilos of fruit in Cebu at PHP180 a kilo, a seemingly high price, though the resulting jam WAS worth it. But yesterday, I was again in Cebu and the price of brilliant looking mangosteen had fallen to just PHp40 a kilo! So I carted home 16 kilos in checked-in baggage and will make even more jam tomorrow… Apparently, at the height of the season, which is about now, you can buy mangosteen at the farm gate in Mindanao for as low as PHP10 a kilo! Egads, I should set up a mobile jam unit just to stockpile mangosteen jam which is nearly impossible to get the rest of the year!
There is nothing like the natural beauty of something in season. 
Here, I attempted to arrange about 10 kilos of mangosteen on a wooden pedestal and it looked just great; but in reality, it kept tumbling over because of the irregular sizes of the fruit. My photos aren’t too focused but you get the picture… After enjoying this somewhat glutton-like view for a day or two, it will all be turned into jam and probably sterilised so that I have some in stock to give away to balikbayans this holiday season. This year’s crop (or at least the ones I have purchased) has been brilliant and cements my view that Mango and Mangosteen are my two favorite tropical fruits. As a teenager, I was once invited to lunch at the home of a cousin of a friend of mine, and I recall the great pomp that accompanied the entrance of the dessert, a huge sterling silver bowl filled with the most spectacular mangosteen I have ever eaten… it is a food memory burned permanently in my brain CD… now if only I had a huge silver bowl…
22 Responses
Hmm… I love mangosteen too! I always make sure to buy a few kilos every week. Lately my suki sells me the ones from Quezon. I find them easier to crack open plus I can also eat the seeds as they are not ‘mapakla’.
MM, can I buy some of your homemade mangosteen jam?
i do love mangosteen and can get them here in London at china town – quite pricey though! haven’t tried mangosteen jam before. may be you can share with us your recipe. thanks.
My mother is a die-hard mangosteen fan. As a kid, I distinctly remember how much she loved Magnolia’s now-nonexistent Coffee Mangosteen ice cream. So she was predictably excited when I told her that you had found mangosteen jam at Market!Market! Unfortunately, she says that they never have it in stock. MM, now that it’s in season, would you know if they are finally selling this delicious yet rare jam? My mom would be so happy to find it and will surely hoard!
i so loved mangosteen!my friends didn’t liked it though but i really adored them. sadly i haven’t tried them for years and they are quite pricey and of bad quality in the supermarkets.
Mangosteen is my favorite fruit!!!!!! How I miss Magnolia’s coffee mangosteen ice cream flavor.
I love mangosteen too! :) They are yummy and cute to boot! There is something so decadent about tropical fruit…
Please post about your jam making! I have only attempted jam once because: 1. I dont have, nor know where to find, that special sugar they supposedly use for jam, and 2. I am just too lazy for all the bottle sterilization and vacuum stuff. My dad (and his mom) make THE most wonderful mango jam though they don’t use that “special sugar”. Any jamming tips that will make the whole process seem simpler to me will be much appreciated! I have always wanted to eat my own jam…
Ack! In my excitement I failed to see the link to your mangosteen jam making post! So sorry!
Anyhoo, if you have additional wise words for a novice wannabe jam maker feel free to pass them along :)
Everyone…follow the link up top in the post to my mangosteen jam making extravaganza. It is really relatively easy. No pectin required. Just mangosteen, sugar and jars. Katrina, if you can get your hands on lots of mangosteen, you can even surprise your mom with a jar!
Umm…since I haven’t done much work in the kitchen, I don’t think jam-making would be such a good idea. The closest I’ve been to that process is watching classmates do it for Home Ec class back in high school. No, I’d rather surprise my mom by *buying* some! ;-)
Katrina, it should be back on the market by December or so…
Oy. You are mean, Marketman! Those mangosteen pictures are making me SO hungry for them. LOL
for a while i couldn’t get over that mangosteen jam of yours, i was determined to make it but was balking over the high price of mangosteen at 180/ kg! finally a couple of weeks ago i bought a little over a kilo of mangosteen and experimented on mangosteen jam courtesy of MM’s recipe. i finally satisfied my month-long craving, but had to buy lakatan bananas too since you said it went well with that. yummy! yummy! now i’m thinking of making more jam to send to my sister in the US (another MM fan fond of making home-made jams).
Next to mangoes, mangosteen is my favorite fruit. I cannot get it here fresh. It is frozen and thawed out and the taste and texture just is not the same.
I echo your fondness with mangosteens not only rich in nutrient but they are embedded with powerful antioxidant. The jam is out of this world!!! The seeds in jam taste like pecan to me. Aside from heightening the flavor of coffee ice cream it is also good as a topping for mocha flavored cheesecake.
Durian coffee with Mangosteen Jam on toast in the morning is HEAVEN :) Can you imagine, drinking durian coffee at work while conducting a meeting….love to see those faces as I blah blah blah
John, that’s my DREAM breakfast! :-)
I was surprised to see mangosteen show up at our breakfast a few days ago. so it’s mangosteen season!I noticed though we got big pits in our mangosteen, is that the way it normally is or do we have some Phil varities w/ small, no pits?
Those are my favorite fruits too. I can be stranded on an island and survive on just that. My mom-in-law who makes the best ube halaya swears by her mom and lola’s mango halaya.
It is sooo sarap daw though I never tried it yet because she is too lazy to make it . She said you have to mix it until your arm drops off , for about 2 to 3 hours. She isn’t too sure anymore of the ratio but believes it is 1 : 1, sugar and mango and that’s it. Begin by boiling in high heat and when mixture begins to thicken and bubble, lower the heat. I will defintiely try the mangosteen jam soon.
I love mangosteen! It makes my teeth sensitive though..
hmmm…..I’ve never tried mangosteen jam before. i guess from not being a jam or jelly person. i’m more of a butter person- plain butter, PB or my fav- almond butter.
am i missing something?
MM, would you be able to recommend a place where you can buy almost homemade Mangosteen jam? I remember a company in Davao(?) that used to sell “exotic” jams even durian jams, was it Kablon Farms and they were pretty good but I don’t know if they’re still in the market. I will be visiting Manila in Dec and would be happy to get some tips. Thank you!
MM: I love mangosteen over all the fruits I ate and tasted. I always bought them when I was still in Manila even if it’s out of season meaning very expensive. Ingit ako sa iyo kasi it’s been so long I ate them.