Mango
- This article is about the fruit. For other meanings of the word, please see Mango (disambiguation).
| Mango | |
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| Immature Black Mango fruit | |
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| Genus: | Mangifera |
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About 35 species, including: | |
The mango (Mangifera spp.; Hindi: आम; plural mangos or mangoes) is a genus of about 35 species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae, native to India and Southeast Asia, of which the Indian Mango M. indica is by far the most important commercially. Reference to mangos as the "food of the gods" can be found in the Hindu Vedas. The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word man-kay, which was corrupted to manga by the Portuguese when they explored western India.
Mangos are large trees, reaching 35-40 m in height, with a crown radius of 10 m. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15-35 cm long and 6-16 cm broad; when young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 10-40 cm long; each flower is small and white with five petals 5-10 mm long, with a mild sweet odour suggestive of lily of the valley. After the flowers finish, the fruit takes from three to six months to ripen.
The mango fruit is a drupe; when mature, it hangs from the tree on long stems. They are variable in size, from 10-25 cm long and 7-12 cm diameter, and may weigh up to 2.5 kg. The ripe fruit is variably coloured yellow, orange and red, reddest on the side facing the sun and yellow where shaded; green usually indicates that the fruit is not yet ripe, but this depends on the cultivar. When ripe, the unpeeled fruit gives off a distinctive resinous slightly sweet smell. In the center of the fruit is a single flat, oblong stone that can be fibrous or hairless on the surface, depending on cultivar. Inside the shell, which is 1-2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a single seed, 4-7 cm long, 3-4 cm wide, 1 cm thick.
Cultivation and uses
The mango is now widely cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates throughout southern Asia, North, South and Central America, the Caribbean, south and central Africa and Australia. It is easily cultivated and there are now more than 1,000 cultivars, ranging from the turpentine mango (from the strong taste of turpentine, which according to the Oxford Companion to Food some varieties actually contain) to the huevos de toro ("bull's balls", from the shape and size). The mango is reputed to be the most commonly eaten fresh fruit worldwide. Mangos also readily naturalize in tropical climates. Some lowland forests in the Hawaiian Islands are dominated by introduced mangos.
The mango is a popular fruit with people around the world. However, many mango farmers receive a low price for their produce. This has led to mangoes being available as a 'fair trade' item in some countries.
The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins A, B and C. The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang. The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy.
The mango is in the same family as poison ivy and contains urushiol, though much less than poison ivy. Some people get dermatitis from touching mango peel or sap. Persons showing an allergic reaction after handling a mango can usually enjoy the fruit if someone else first removes the skin. The leaves are toxic to cattle.
It is reputed that mangos soothe the intestines, which makes them easy to digest. In India, where mangoes are the national fruit, they are thought to help stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart, and to benefit the brain.
The mango also features as a common motif in Indian textiles, known as the paisley design.
Consumption
Generally, once ripe, they are quite juicy and can be very messy to eat. However, those exported to temperate regions are, like most tropical fruit, picked under-ripe. Although they are ethylene producers and ripen in transit, they do not have the same juiciness or flavour as the fresh fruit. A ripe mango will have an orange-yellow or reddish skin. To allow a mango to continue to ripen after purchase, store in a cool, dark place, but not in a refrigerator as this will slow the ripening process.
The small-fruited cultivars, usually somewhat yellow in colour, can be rolled on a flat surface in the same way a lemon is rolled before extracting the juice. It is ready for eating when the big stone can be rotated without breaking the skin. With the teeth, rip off a piece of skin at the top of the mango and place the mouth over the hole. Squeeze the fruit from the bottom up, as if squeezing toothpaste from the bottom of the tube.
With any of the large-fruited cultivars of mango, the operation is less hazardous: place the fruit lengthwise on a table and feel for the rather flat stone (containing the seed), which should lie horizontally inside the skin about midway through the fruit. Slice the mango so that the knife just passes over the flat surface of the stone. Turn the mango over and repeat the process, cutting across the other flat surface.
With each big slice that has been removed, cut hatch marks through the flesh just down to the skin. Then, holding the portion flesh-side-up, press the thumb on the skin side underneath as if turning the piece inside out. Many bite-sized pieces of flesh will pop up and can be cut out to put into a fruit salad or other preparation. This technique is sometimes called the hedgehog method because of the appearance of the prepared fruit. An alternative to the hedgehog method is to use a spoon to scoop out pieces of the fruit from the exposed "cheeks".
Specialized mango splitters that make this job much easier became available in kitchen stores in 2005. They consist of an oblong-shaped central cutter and two outwardly extending cutters mounted in a frame with convenient handles.
A simple way to eat a large mango 'as is' involves using a knife. Start by removing part of the skin and then slice out bite-sized pieces with the knife. Remove more skin to expose more flesh. Expect to get juicy hands when eating the last part, when there is no skin to hold with your hand.
Another way to eat a mango is to simply use a sharp knife to peel the skin completely. Then make horizontal and vertical cuts on each side till the flat stone is reached. Slice off the flesh from each side of the stone and then slice the remaining flesh left on the side of the stone. This method works best on mangoes that are ripe and which have firm flesh. Another simpler way to enjoy mangos is to buy them frozen or dried as they are becoming more common in this form in local markets.
Ripe mangoes are extremely popular throughout Latin America. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangoes on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In Indonesia, green mango is sold by street vendors with sugar and salt and/or chili. Green mango may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. In Guatemala, Ecuador and Honduras, small, green mangoes are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavour like a Granny Smith apple. Vendors sell slices of peeled green mango on the streets of these countries, often served with salt. In Hawai'i it is common to pickle green mango slices.
Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually sharpened with hot chilis or limes. In India, mango is often made into a pulp and sold as bars like chocolate, and unripe mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Southern India, especially the Andhra Pradesh state, is a major producer of mangoes that specialises in making a variety of mango pickles. These pickles are very spicy. It is almost an essential food in Andhra families, where mango pickle production is a household activity in summer.
In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp.
Mango is also used to make juices, both in ripe and unripe form. Pieces of fruit can be mashed and used in ice cream; they can be substituted for peaches in a peach (now mango) pie; or put in a blender with milk, a little sugar, and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage. A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar, but uses a mixture of yoghurt and milk as the base, and is sometimes flavoured with salt or cardamom. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavoured with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert.
Dried unripe mango used as a spice in south and southeast Asia is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). Am is a Hindi word for Mango and amchoor is nothing but powder or extract of Mango.
Cultivars
Many hundred named mango cultivars exist. In mango orchards, several cultivars are always grown intermixed to improve cross-pollination. In India, the commonest cultivar is 'Alphonso', known as the King of Mangoes due to the popular opinion that they are the best cultivar available. The best 'Alphonso' mangos are reputed to come from the town of Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. About 80% of mangos in UK supermarkets are of the single cultivar 'Tommy Atkins', which dominates the world export trade. It travels well and has a good shelf-life, but does not have the same flavour as some less common cultivars obtained from Asian shops.
A list of additional leading cultivars can be found at the cultivar list link in the external links below.
External links
- Sorting Mangifera species
- Plant Cultures: botany, history and uses of mango
- Mango research pages
- Mango cultivar list
- Mangoes and health
- Mango nutrition information
- Mango
- "Mango" article in Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion to Food (ISBN 0192115790)
- US application 20,050,257,696 for the mango splitter
- NPR story about the mango splitter