Santol

Sandoricum koetjape · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

The santol (Sandoricum koetjape), also called cotton fruit or wild mangosteen, is a large round tropical fruit of the mahogany family from mainland Southeast Asia. Beneath its thick, leathery rind sits a ring of translucent, cotton-soft pulp clinging to a few large seeds — sweet-and-sour and intensely aromatic, eaten fresh, candied or cooked into sour curries.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Golden and firmSweet-sour and bright, the cotton pulp tight around the seeds, which are spat out and never swallowed. No source settles whether a picked one sweetens on the counter.Everyday best

Skin colourGolden yellow all over, fine down still on it

The squeezeFirm, the rind giving only slightly under a thumb

Stem endStalk browning, the scar dry and tight

SmellA light sweet-sour lift right at the skin

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

What one gives you

53%

Usable yield

About 42 g of cotton pulp per 80 g native fruit; thick rind and 3-5 big seeds are the rest

80 g

Typical weight

one specimen

Preparing