Alien

I moved from the Midlands over to the Fens about 7 years ago. It was a bit of a culture shock. The strange dialect, weird dress sense, odd customs : but the locals soon got used to me. I do like the plethora of farm shops and roadside veg stands, and upon seeing a sign for asparagus and strawberries I popped into one such local farm shop.

I found some strawberries but couldn't see any asparagus so I asked the woman behind the counter if they had any. "We've just sold the last bunch" said she, and then called to the back of the store "Can you get me some more asparagus".

A large bloke appeared behind me wielding a knife, looked at me, looked outside where it was now bucketing it down with rain, and then put on a small and hardly waterproof cap and marched outside. "He won't be long" said the woman.

During the wait for asparagus, I spotted some odd looking things by the till. Round purple balls with mutant green fleshy leaves. I asked what they were, fruit or veg. "They're mangosteens, try one, just pull off the green bit and bite it. They're lovely." I thought that due to the odd look of the strange fruit, I would buy them and try eating them in the privacy of my own home. So I bought four.

"Try one, just pull off the green bit and bite it. They're lovely," repeated the woman just as the bloke, now wet, marched back in. "You won't get fresher than that" he said dumping some fresh cut asparagus in the scales. The woman put my purchases in a bag and once again tried to get me to eat a mangosteen, "Try one, just pull off the green bit and bite it. They're lovely. Everyone who tries it says they're lovely".
"You won't get fresher than that" said the man putting the asparagus in the bag.
"Go on try one", said the woman handing me the bag.
"You won't get fresher than that" said the man.
"Just pull off the green bit and bite it. Everyone who tries it says they're lovely" said the woman, as I backed out of the store, thanking the man for his soggy efforts.
"You won't get fresher than that" replied the man.
"Try one, they're lovely" called the woman as I made a dash for the car.

Back at home I thought I would try one. I pulled of the green bit and took a small bite. Blergh!
I then cut into the fruit and discovered that it had a fleshy outside and a juicy white inner bit, which was the edible part. I wonder just how many people have tried the fruit in the shop according to her instructions, and got a mouthful of nasty tasting flesh. In fact according to the wikipedia entry for mangosteen, the outer flesh contains pigments that are an avid dye on skin, so there could be a few purple mouthed people around.

The inner bit tastes a bit like lychee and orange and is rather delicious. The fruit is also the current in-thing, so mangosteen juice will no doubt soon be replacing pomegranate juice.