In the coffee shop a waitress said, "of course I will bring beer if you
insist, but I think you should try the mangoes." She looked like a beauty queen and her
expression was earnest and quizzical.
"I actually wanted a drink," I said.
"We put them in blender and you half-sip, half-eat with a spoon."
I ordered the mangoes.
The waitress eventually returned and set a tall glass before me. "There we are, the classic
fruit of the monsoon," she said, then stood back with folded arms, watching. The contents
of the glass were a warm, glowing orange; faint hints of fire indicated that perhaps crystals
from the sun had been dropped like sugar lumps into the blender too. It smelled of flowers
and, mixed in with the wonderful mango tastes, the fruit gave off hints of cinnamon and
rare spices. I finished every last drop.
"They were absolutely the best I've ever had," I said.
She smiled and touched my hand. "That will please my father," she said. "Early this
morning I picked them in his garden."
- Alexander Frater: Chasing the Monsoon
If you aren't familiar with mangos, here are the basics:
A mango is a fruit. It can vary in size - from the size of a lime to that of a small melon -
but most of the ones that you find in this country are roughly the size of a large avocado. .
It is plump and shaped a bit like a teardrop. It is green when it is young, but as it ripens, it
takes on a yellowish hue, with red or orange highlights. It has a tough skin, a semi-firm,
orange colored flesh and a bizarre, oblong pit that is covered with fuzz. You probably
aren't very familiar with it, because it is usually tucked away in the produce section of your
grocery store with the other tropical fruit you don't eat very often - papaya, star fruit and
coconuts. It's not really all that expensive - once again, about the same as an avocado - but
pricey enough that you probably wouldn't be tempted to buy one unless you were already
familiar with it.
Those are the basics - the facts that you can list and quantify. Everything else about the
mango is rather poetic.
Biting into a mango is like ... It's like... - This is actually rather embarrassing to say; there's
really no way to put this that isn't hopelessly florid and overly sentimental, so perhaps it's
best to just come out and say it...
Biting into a ripe mango is like kissing a pretty girl in a rainstorm.
The flesh of the fruit is soft, but firm. It is very sweet - a little like a peach, but with a
spiciness and a delicate aftertaste of musk that dances on your tongue. Eating a mango is
almost always messy - juice invariable runs down your chin and your fingers and you find
yourself closing your eyes as you taste it.
Is it getting warm in here?
Mangos are a tropical fruit - they are found throughout Africa, South America and Asia,
but they are most commonly associated with India. More mangos are grown in India than
all other varieties of fruit combined. Indians are mad for them. Mangos are widely
considered to be a holy fruit - they symbolize love and passion and the yearly monsoon
rains, which are themselves considered to be a time of joy and passion. Indian mango
enthusiasts will spend hours arguing over the merits of different varieties of mangos. In his
book, Chasing the Monsoon, Alexander Frater described such an argument:
"Arthur, this is a serious matter," said the man who had started the
argument. "We are speaking of the most noble fruit on earth. It is one of the jewels in
India's crown, bequeathed to us each year by the monsoon and it arouses strong passions in
all of us. You must have a Safeda (a variety of mango) for your pudding, though bear in
mind that it is not one of the truly great mangoes. It is large and very sweet...but lacking
flavour. Certainly lacking those wonderful, subtle flavours you get with the Langra
(variety)."
"I am very partial to the Kalmi (variety)," said a colleague, "but the Langra is the mango of
the true aficionado. I know Langra freaks who go back each year to buy their fruit from
particular gardens..."
"From particular parts of particular gardens," added a colleague.
"From particular trees in particular parts of particular gardens," said the other.
One said, "My grandfather once planted a Langra tree but before he could eat the fruit, he
had to marry it to another tree. A tamarind. Custom decreed it."
"I know about that custom," said another colleague. "The jasmine was also considered a
suitable bride for a mango. The marriage was celebrated with a great feast. Two hundred
people came. My grandmother had to sell her jewelry to pay for it. But it was a fantastic
party and it meant that, when the tree finally bore fruit, it could be relished to the full."
The point is, this is a very special fruit.
With the influx of immigrants from tropical countries and the popularity of exotic cuisines,
there is a trend in this country to eat more mangos. Steve Berge, the owner of Black River
Produce - a company that supplies markets and restaurants throughout Norhtern New England - says that there is a year-round demand for them in recent years. "Believe it or
not," he says, " the consumption is increasing. We are selling more and more every year at
both the wholesale and retail level. People's diets are getting better; they are eating more
fresh fruits and vegetables. As a result, restaurants are serving more fresh tropical fruits -
on their own and as garnish on plates. The mango is probably one of the most popular of
those."
Berge says that when choosing a mango, you should use all your senses. "As far as
looking at it goes," he says, "you want to make sure that it is smooth - that there isn't any
scarring or bruising from being dropped during shipping. It should be firm, but at the same
time, it should yield slightly to pressure. You don't want one that's rock-hard. It should
have a fruity aroma; you can smell the ripeness - like you can with a cantaloupe. As far as
colors go, mangos yellow as they ripen. It shouldn't be as yellow as a banana, and it should
have rosy highlights."
Muktar Sandhu, the owner of Sandhu's Treasures - an Indian clothing store in Keene - likes the mangos you can buy in grocery
stores here, but says that they are nothing like the ones he ate as a child in the Punjab
region of Northern India. "We used to eat green mangos," he says. "We would make
them into pickles or eat them with soy sauce - boy, they were sour. My
father loved mangos - he was the one who introduced me to them. He
would go into people's compounds at night to steal mangos - that's one of my most vivid
memories. The owners knew that someone was stealing their mangos, so the would put
barbed wire around the trees. Then my father would give us bamboo poles and send us to
knock the fruit down." Sandhu laughs. "Thieves are always 2 steps ahead."
*****
The best way to introduce yourself to a mango is simply to peel one and eat it fresh. Keep
in mind that it will be a messy proposition - if the mango is even slightly over-ripe, it
becomes very soft. In addition, the large, fuzzy pit in the center of the fruit tends to hold
onto the flesh of the mango; you have to be very determined to get at it.
Once you have tried fresh mangos and are hooked, here are some recipes to make use of
the ones you will find yourself bringing back from the store, almost against your will.
Thai Fruit Salsa
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 ripe avocado, preferably Haas, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 -2 teaspoons minced jalapeno pepper
5 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
In a large bowl combine all the ingredients except the basil. Refrigerate covered up to 2
hours. Just before serving, toss in the basil.
- Makes about 4 cups
Sheila Lukins - All Around The World Cookbook
Fresh Mango Daiquiri
1/2 cup chopped, ripe mango
3 ounces white rum
Juice of 2 limes
1 ounce simple sugar syrup
1 cup crushed ice
2 mint sprigs - garnish
Combine all the ingredients except the mint in a blender and process at high speed until
mixed, about 30 seconds. Pour into daiquiri glasses. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.
- Makes 2 drinks.
Sheila Lukins - All Around The World Cookbook
Mango Pie Au Fladd
Crust:
1 cup white, unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup cold butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-5 tablespoons ice water
Filling:
4 - 5 large, ripe mangos
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1/4 cup whisky or dark rum
Cut the butter into the dry crust ingredients until thoroughly mixed, then gradually add ice
water until the crust dough is moist enough to roll. Chill until ready to roll and line 9" pie
pan.
Peel and cube the mangos, then toss roughly with the remaining ingredients. Please,
please, please resist the temptation to add any spices. Mangos have a
delicate flavor that is easy to cover up. Pour the filling into the pie shell and cover with top
crust. Crimp the edges and cut holes to allow steam to vent.
Bake at 420 degrees for 15 minutes, then for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to cool
before serving.
