.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Saturday, May 24, 2008

 

The goodness of mangosteens

On one of my visits to Australia I stopped off in Kyabram on the Murray River to visit my niece. She took me to the local market—very quiet compared to the ones here in Asia. Someone was selling mangosteen juice and from memory I think they were asking about $A70 a bottle.

Perhaps you are asking: what's a mangosteen and why are they so special?

The picture shows fresh mangosteens that I bought here in Bangkok recently for about 50 cents Australian per kilo. Doesn't that seem a bit different from the price being charged in Kyabram?

The vendor at Kyabram told that mangosteens have amazing antioxidant qualities and said research suggests they can cure many illnesses. I usually find claims like these are a little extravagant. You can find a balanced report on the goodness of mangosteens here. If you do a search for 'mangosteen juice' you'll find many other pages promoting the healing qualities of this fruit. Make up your own mind.

Whatever you decide about the value of mangosteen I have to ask how the price can be justified. The juice being sold in Kyabram included (from memory) raspberry juice. The ones I found being promoted online include other juices. They usually sell for a little less than the Kyabram vendor was asking—say $US35 for the most popular brand but this brand includes many other ingredients in the bottle, such as: apple juice, pear juice, grape juice, pear purée, blueberry juice, raspberry juice, strawberry juice, cranberry juice, cherry juice, citric acid, natural flavor, pectin, xanthan gum, sodium benzoate. I'm sure most of these are healthy too but I have to ask, just what proportion of the drink is actually mangosteen juice? Most of those other juices can be bought for a much lower price. And considering the price I'm paying for mangosteens here in Thailand the word that comes into my mind to describe these products is 'ripoff'.

Labels: , , , , , ,


Comments:
I've added an update to this one here: http://oznasia.blogspot.com/2009/04/mangosteen-juice-in-thailand.html
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?