To select the best table fruits, choose those with the highest number of stigma lobes at the apex, for these have the highest number of fleshy segments and accordingly the fewest seeds. The numbers always correspond. Mangosteens are usually eaten fresh as dessert. One need only hold the fruit with the stem-end downward, take a sharp knife and cut around the middle completely through the rind, and lift off the top half, which leaves the fleshy segments exposed in the colorful "cup"–the bottom half of the rind. The segments are lifted out by fork.

The fleshy segments are sometimes canned, but they are said to lose their delicate flavor in canning, especially if pasteurized for as much as 10 minutes. The more acid fruits are best for preserving. To make jam, in Malaya, seedless segments are boiled with an equal amount of sugar and a few cloves for 15 to 20 minutes and then put into glass jars. In the Philippines, a preserve is made by simply boiling the segments in brown sugar, and the seeds may be included to enrich the flavor.

The seeds are sometimes eaten alone after boiling or roasting. The rind is rich in pectin. After treatment with 6% sodium chloride to eliminate astringency, the rind is made into a purplish jelly. Mangosteen twigs are used as chewsticks in Ghana. The fruit rind contains 7 to 14% catechin tannin and rosin, and is used for tanning leather in China. It also yields a black dye.