Mango bliss
Originally uploaded by norvegal
One of my favorite things about this time of year - besides the warmth and the lush green of new foliage and the rustling of leaves and the sweet moist smell of the air and the tweet-tweet-tweeting of the birds and the blooming of the lilacs and rugosas and peonies and the return of morning sun to the far corner of my porch... let's see, where was I?
Oh yes, BESIDES all those other things (and in addition to anything else I failed to mention), I positively adore this time of year because it brings the return of the really good mangoes. You know the ones I'm talking about? Not the big red stringy ones that cost a fortune and never really taste like anything, but those slim, oblong, deep yellow ones with an irresistibly sweet, velvety, juicy flesh. Heaven.
Around here they usually appear at Whole Foods in mid-May, and if I'm lucky they stick around until mid-June. Why is this? If they come from a tropical climate, how on earth can they only be available for one month a year?
The ones I covet are called Champagne mangoes. I don't like fruit with a brand name, but I'll make exception for my mangoes. Technically, they're called ataulfo mangoes, but some company seems to have a monopoly on the whole thing. Which may be why they're only available for a month each year.
Anyway, if you see those mangoes and are feeling adventurous, please do give them a try. I usually remove the skin with a vegetable peeler and cut off the flesh in chunks. And then, sleeves rolled up and bent over the sink, I proceed to suck the rest of the fruit off the pit. It doesn't look all that glamorous but oh... what bliss!
7 comments:
Yumm! I'll have to start checking the brand name on my Mangos. Time for Thai Mango Sticky Rice.
Sweet Clara,
What a lovely post - keep enjoying those mangos!!
XOXO
I never heard of Champagne mangoes until Sunday...and here they are again! I'm going to have to look for some at the store.
No lilacs around my place, but the honeysuckle smell says 'spring' to me. Too bad it only lasts a week or so.
What a coincidence! We received an ataulfo mango in our Boston organics box today :)
I love those mangoes. They are also great with rhubarb sauce. Mango+Rhubarb in the same season=Bliss.
Our local produce store calls them Manila mangoes.
Oh, they are yummy! When they're kind of wrinkly and you think they're goners, they are sweet and juicy. Juice runs down my arms as I cut them. Reminds me of eating lobsters in Maine, out on the deck.
You can get champagne mangoes in New York City -- pre-peeled and in little plastic boxes, ready to slurp and munch as you walk -- on street corners! As if NYC didn't already have it all....
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