Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › General Discussion › Off topic › Mangoes
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Mangoes

post #1 of 24
6/5/08 at 2:38pm
Thread Starter 
I love Mangoes. I love Mangoes. I love Mangoes.

This has got to be one of my most favourite fruit in the whole wide world. Just thinking about them just does something to me...They are so delicious. With over 1,000 different varieties in the World this Tropical Fruit just does it for me.

A few years ago, I ventured into Harrods Food Hall on a Saturday..Oh my this place just excites the foodie in me. Well I am admiring the bright, beautiful and luscious looking fruit in the Hall and my eyes fall upon these Mangoes. I stood there in Gourmet reverence admiring these jewels of a fruit trying to imagine what they must taste like. A big ole smile comes on my face. I picked up Two, I mean I just had to try them. By the way they were from Israel. Yeah Yeah they were Three pounds but I was on vacation and this had to be.

So I get back to my Hotel and I prepare for this experience that I just know that is going to titillate my palate. I put on my bib..hey these things can be messy.. I peel away a bit of the skin and my mouth makes contact and this juice flows and the taste was well I guess the word I could use was Rapturous. Oh my what a pleasure to bask in this fruit and to behold such a moment. It was messy but the enjoyment went beyond words.

High Life - The On Board Magazine from British Airways records a story a few years about a Man and his love of Mangoes. It was said that this wealthy gentleman was so in love with one of the specific varieties of a mango sold at Harrods. This particular variety was one of the best and did require some particular care. It was said that one of the Harrods Vans would make it's way Mon - Friday with a single Mango as it's only delivery to this gentleman. The mango would be in a box with some straw if my memory serves me correctly.

Now for any of you in the New York City area here is a link for where you can pick up the Alphonso Variety of Mango-considered to be the best in the world. When I make my way there in July..tracks will be made to try this mango out.
Don't miss this experience.

http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/06/...BISFLhB7RTaw2S


Best,

Otto
Reply
Reply

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
post #2 of 24
6/5/08 at 2:40pm
When I saw the thread title I thought it said "mongoose" and I became all excited, they are adorable. But mangoes are yummy Just thought I would share
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 24
6/5/08 at 2:55pm
Otto, I'm with you...mangos are one of the finest fruits on this earth! Since I live in the midwestern region of the USA we only have a small variety of imports available. One time last year I tried a mango that was different from the usual ones we have. It was smaller, and the outer skin was golden. Much softer texture than I'm used to, I just figured it was a bit over-ripe, but maybe that's just the character of this particular variety. In any case, thanks for sharing....I'll be on the lookout for unusual mangos, especially that Alphonso variety!!!
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 24
6/5/08 at 3:21pm
  • kbe
  • offline
  • Gender:
Oh yeah!

I grew up in southeast Florida and there were scads of mango trees around. It seemed every other house had a tree or two, and even vacant properties were often loaded with mature mango trees. I remember I could hardly wait for mango season so I could begin eating my fill of Hayden, Springfield, Kent, Tommy Atkins, Keitt, Van Dyke, Palmer, Peach, Pineapple and other varieties--all slightly different and delicious!

Coconuts too. Mostly from the elegant coconut palm (now rare due to the spread of Early Lethal Yellowing which more decimated the coconut palm population). I recall opening ripe coconut palm nuts by continually hitting the coconut on it's pointed end until the outer husk began to split and then using bare fingers and toes to complete the husk removal. A punch through the coconut "eyes" with a sharp nail or spike and then you could enjoy drinking the delicious coconut milk. Cracking the hard inner shell provided sweet, chewy coconut meat.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 24
6/5/08 at 7:33pm

MARVELOUS MANGO TRIFLE

12 oz. pound cake or sponge cake
3 tbsp. apricot jam
16 oz. can mango slices
4 tbsp. Cointreau (Optional, perhaps, but only marginally so.)
1 tsp. almond OR vanilla extract (Optional, but very good.)
2 c. trifle custard (Homemade is best; however, Bird's© will work in a pinch.)
1 c. heavy cream, whipped
Zest of 1 small lemon or 1 small orange
2 to 3 slices mango (for decoration) -- alt., 3 sprigs fresh mint

Cut cake in 2" pieces, spread with apricot jam and then sandwich pieces together. Place cake "sandwiches" in the base of your trifle dish (or small glass punchbowl, i f you don't have a trifle dish).

Drain the mango slices and save the juice (about 1/2 cup).

Cut the mango slices into halves lengthwise and place them over and between the cake "sandwiches" already in the trifle dish.

Mix the mango juice, extract and liqueur and pour half over the cake. Prepare the last of the cake and arrange over the mango slices. Pour the remaining mango juice over the top. With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently press down to "even things out." Gently pour the custard over all and spread evenly.

Whip the cream, but take care not to whip it up too much -- you don't want it to be stiff. Fold the zest into the cream and then cover the custard with big spoonfuls of the whipped cream. (n.b.: This dessert is best if made at least a couple of hours in advance and then chilled thoroughly.)
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 24
6/5/08 at 7:46pm
I love mangoes and had NO idea there were so many varieties! Our pick of mangoes here in Kansas is pretty slim, they are so much better in Florida!

Does anyone have a good mango daiquiri recipe?
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 24
6/5/08 at 11:45pm
Mango Sticky Rice!

I grew up in southwest Florida, where we also had mango trees in almost every yard. My mom loves mangos, but is horribly allergic to them; touching them gave her a ghastly rash like poison ivy. She'd have me collect and bring some home, then she'd peel them wearing dishwashing gloves, and eat them over the sink with a long fork. This process helped some with allergic reactions and, although her throat itched afterward, it's not like she ever stopped breathing or anything.

I didn't care for mango though. I thought it was "waxy." It wasn't until decades later that I tried it again here in California when I had mango with sticky rice for dessert in a Thai restaurant. Oh My Gawd! It was like the Hallelujah Chorus had erupted on my tongue!

I did like raw coconut and coconut milk, still do. Instead of hitting the coconuts, we would hurl them repeatedly onto the asphalt pointed side down until they cracked, then pull them apart. I once met a Haitian man in South Beach across the street from the News Cafe who, for $5, said he could open a coconut in less than 30 seconds with his teeth. I was appropriately hung over for a Sunday morning in the relentless sun and accepted his offer. It was impressive to watch, but the protruding, almost 45º angle of his teeth was alarming. But when you're hungover, fresh coconut milk is good for what ails ya!
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 24
6/6/08 at 12:43am
Otto! I posted about how my mom loves mangoes and tulips (ironically she's half Dutch and half Indian) in a previous thread. My father owns an importing company, and when we usually get deliveries from India every week, we get a nice big box of 12 Indian Alphonso or Kesar mangoes. They're the three most popular varieties, with the kesar being sweet but not too sweet, soft enough to eat with a spoon and not fibrous at all. The alphonso being slightly sickeningly sweet, but it's most widely used in cooking, and making a juice sort of thing out of. You just puree some alphonso mangoes with sugar and water (PM me for a recepie, i'll get my mom to tell me) and add saffron,
pistachios and blanched almonds along with freshly ground cardamom seeds. Its eaten with wheat flour fried unleavened breads (Puris)

When they come from India, they come in raffia woven baskets full of hay, they're amazing
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 24
6/6/08 at 3:36am
Grrrr! I love mangoes! It's winter here but even in summer we hardly get mangoes anymore. We used to have a mango tree in the backyard and one year it produced so much fruit we couldn't eat it all. It was awesome! I miss Western Australia
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 24
6/6/08 at 4:46am
Leave it to Tvlampboy to come up with a gorgeous dessert recipe!!! Thanks Matt, and you know, I actually have and regularly use Bird's custard! Can't wait to make this one!
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 24
6/6/08 at 4:55am
Glad to hear it, luv. Trifles are especially good in the summertime, and a welcome change from the endless barrage of pies, cakes and the like. Along with compotes and ambrosias, trifles are among my very favorite summer desserts to make, as they're simple to make, refreshing and never "too much."
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 24
6/6/08 at 5:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivek View Post

Otto! I posted about how my mom loves mangoes and tulips (ironically she's half Dutch and half Indian) in a previous thread.


Thanks I will check that out.

Best,

Otto
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 24
6/6/08 at 5:47am
While back home in Europe, I enjoyed canned mango in own juice (imported I believe). Now I see mangoes on sale at the grocery stores every so often. How do you pick the best/ripest/sweetest ones? Which are the best: red and green or yellow and orange?

Please do not laugh at me here: you peel them and you discard the big flat seed, right?
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 24
6/6/08 at 5:54am
Me too me too
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 24
6/6/08 at 6:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twolf View Post

While back home in Europe, I enjoyed canned mango in own juice (imported I believe). Now I see mangoes on sale at the grocery stores every so often. How do you pick the best/ripest/sweetest ones? Which are the best: red and green or yellow and orange?

Please do not laugh at me here: you peel them and you discard the big flat seed, right?

Yes, but be very careful peeling them, else you'll cut the f-ck out of your hands/fingers. (The odd, fairly flat, really large pit is slightly different in each one, and mangoes are by nature very viscous/slippery inside.)

Also, the sap/juice from the skin can cause mild dermatitis if you're not careful. (Always wash your hands well after handling fresh mangoes, and don't rub your eyes until after you do wash up.)

Do have Big Lots stores in the DFW area? They almost always very good and very cheap canned mango slices. (16 oz. for $1.00 both here and in Kansas City area Big Lots stores.) Most Mexican/Dominican/El Salvadorean/Guatemalan groceries have them, too.
(Trust me -- use canned mangoes for most desserts until you're skilled in cutting fresh mangoes. The flavor and texture are usually very good in the canned variety.)

I love what Amy Vanderbilt used to say when asked the "proper" way to eat a fresh mango. Her response? "In a bathtub."
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 24
6/6/08 at 6:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Twolf View Post

While back home in Europe, I enjoyed canned mango in own juice (imported I believe). Now I see mangoes on sale at the grocery stores every so often. How do you pick the best/ripest/sweetest ones? Which are the best: red and green or yellow and orange?

Please do not laugh at me here: you peel them and you discard the big flat seed, right?

I don't peel them first...what I do is slice down each flat side, then carve the fruit away from the flesh...I think you might find a demo of this on the FoodNetwork website. (It's similar to preparing a sliced avacado)

The way I choose a mango is by firm feel, mostly clear skin, and the best way to tell if it's a good one:

SMELL!!!!

Yep, that's the best way! I usually sniff at the spot where the fruit was attached to the tree. It should have the smell that is identical to the perfect taste - that's how I do it!
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 24
6/6/08 at 12:01pm
Hehe, when we eat mangoes, Indian mangoes, they have a large stone in the middle, you cut around it, into slices, and grip the mango skin between your teeth and suck the pulp out. Yum.
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 24
6/6/08 at 2:28pm
One of the perks of living in Florida - fresh mangoes! I love them!

A lot of my friends have mango trees growing in their back yards, and they always are giving me some because they have so many they don't know what to do with them.
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 24
6/6/08 at 3:40pm
Will check Big Lots out, thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 24
6/6/08 at 9:02pm
So I live in Miami and my Tommy Atkins Mango tree is properly laden with fruit right now. This year it was kind of weird as a couple of weeks ago there were some that were ready, but the rest on the tree now are not quite ready yet. This poor tree was knocked down by Hurricane Frances or maybe Hurrican Jeanne in 2004. We righted it up and it came back perfectly well. As a matter of fact, this tree was the replacement for the old venerable tree we lost in 1992 to Hurrican Andrew. In any case, the best way to eat a mango (and I do like them chilled a little) is to hold it upright and cut slices down the wide sides of the mango (all this without peeling the mango). You take the slice and on the fruit side, not the peel side, you score the mango without going through the skin, making a checkerboard pattern. You then turn push the skin side in so that the squares of mango are accessible to be picked with your mouth. After you have eaten both sides like this, you then cut down the slices from the skinnier side and you can take off the peel and eat the. It is then your choice whether you tackle the seed part. Enjoy over the sink and cleanup afterwards!!
Reply
Reply
post #21 of 24
6/7/08 at 12:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by anamari View Post

...hold it upright and cut slices down the wide sides of the mango (all this without peeling the mango). You take the slice and on the fruit side, not the peel side, you score the mango without going through the skin, making a checkerboard pattern. You then turn push the skin side in so that the squares of mango are accessible to be picked with your mouth.

Yes I do it this way too. Just mind that little brown bit at the top often has sap on it - cut it off first. If there's sap on the mango then I would peel it (with the knife) and cut into pieces, but I'm not too great at peeling them and so a lot of flesh gets wasted.
Reply
Reply
post #22 of 24
6/7/08 at 7:10am
  • kbe
  • offline
  • Gender:
I still enjoy mango smoothies. This is how I make them but some other liquid than milk such as mango juice or apple juice could be used instead:

1 cup sliced cold ripe mango

16 oz ice cold Carbwise low-carb milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Penzey's Double Strength)

1 packet Splenda (or one teaspoon sugar or honey)

3-4 ice cubes


Put everything into a blender, put on the lid and run on high for 20 seconds. Pour into two =tall glasses, share and enjoy!
Reply
Reply
post #23 of 24
6/13/08 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kbe View Post

I still enjoy mango smoothies.

I do too! I make them all the time
Reply
Reply
post #24 of 24
6/13/08 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tvlampboy View Post

2 c. trifle custard (Homemade is best; however, Bird's© will work in a pinch.)

I tried to do a search for custard but couldn't find the recipe. Please post a link!

Going to buy cointreau,
Aiona
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Off topic

Features on Basenotes

Greatest Hits: Annick Menardo
Petals Falling From The Sky - A Report From The Cote d'Azur's Bataille De Fleurs
Basenotes Reader Awards 2013 - Finalists Announced.
Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › General Discussion › Off topic › Mangoes