North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

Because I have a brother who is an avid surfer and settled in Hawaii I have actually tended to some mangoes on visits there and picked them tree-ripe.  I was raised in southern CA and mangoes were something that my adventurous mother introduced us all to in childhood.  It's amazing to me that there are adult Americans who are unfamiliar with this divine fruit given its great shipping qualities and therefore widespread distribution.

 

The main information you can get from an unopened mango is its scent, which should be highly perfumed.  Skin color is only a partial clue, as some varieties have wonderful deep orange flesh while the skins are still dark green.  These are not as common, probably because the U.S. market discourages them. 

 

In Mexico some of the best mangoes I ever ate were huge with dark green skin.  When I was young and stupider, I tried to smuggle a dozen of them into the U.S. after a surf safari into Baja Mexico but my brother cracked under questioning from a border guard so they were left there.  Probably a good thing, but the memory still leaves me hungry for that perfect fruit.

 

When ripe, they should give in slightly to touch, as they pass towards fermentation they get small black dots on the skin.  If they are not sugar sweet, they were picked too young but when picked firm-ripe they can be successfully shipped quite a distance and be nearly perfect- almost as good as tree-ripe.  The ones available now are from our side of the equator so there is a good chance the quality will be good- especially from late May into late summer.