Mangoes with less of a mess
[2008-5-15]
Tag: Dried Mangoes
Sometimes, I ponder what it would be like to live in a warmer climate.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Upper Midwest. Where else can you step out the back door and pick fresh vegetables from your garden (for up to six months), walk down the street and have nearly everyone who drives by wave at you, or hop into your car and be out in the country in less than a couple of minutes?
And that doesn’t even take into account that you can’t find a better place to raise a family.
Usually, my thoughts about residing in climes where it rarely gets colder than 50 degrees and the only precipitation is in the form of rain come to me after I’ve been out three or four days in a row shoveling snow in below-zero temperatures.
But more often, it’s when I’m eating a piece of fresh fruit, which brings me to the mango, the fruit of the mango tree, an evergreen that will grow as tall as 60 fee.
Mangoes are native to India (it’s the designated national fruit of that country as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines), where it has been grown for more than 4,000 years. There are about 35 species and more than 400 varieties of the tropical fruit that are cultivated around the globe.
My interest in mangoes was piqued recently after the purchase of a few in Amazing Grains, the downtown Grand Forks food co-op, and a couple more from the East Side Hugo’s.
Both varieties were quite good but exhibited a slightly different taste. The Francine, a medium to large, flattened oval fruit that is soft and juicy with some fiber, was sweet yet a little spicy. It comes from Haiti. The Tommy Atkins, which is medium to large with an oval or oblong shape and probably is the most popular worldwide, was firm with a fairly fibrous texture. It hails from Mexico. (Most of the mangoes we buy here in the U.S. come from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti.)
Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, as well as a good source of potassium and contain beta carotene. They also are high in fiber, but low in calories (about 110 per average-sized mango), fat (only 1 gram) and sodium.
Popular worldwide
More mangoes are eaten fresh all over the world than any other fruit. (They’re available year-round.) They can be stored unripe at room temperature and take three to four days to ripen. Once ripe, mangoes should be stored in the refrigerator crisper, where they will keep for two to three days.
Besides being eaten raw, ripe mangoes can be sliced and canned or processed to juice, jams, jellies, nectars and preserves. Eastern and Asian cultures use unripe mangoes for pickles, chutney and relishes. In India, unripe mangoes are sliced, dried and made into powder for amchoor, a traditional Indian preparation used for cooking, as well as made into flour.
About my only complaint about fresh mangoes is that they can be a little messy. But if cut the right way, trips to the sink and paper towel rack can be cut down considerably.
When I asked Hawaii native Terry Repoyo about cutting mangoes, he told me slicing works the best. Terry, who is retired and lives in Grand Forks with his wife, Betty, said mangoes, along with mountain apples (also known as the Malay), were among his favorite fruits when he was growing up .
To slice a mango, cut off both ends of the fruit with a sharp thin-bladed knife. Then place the fruit on the flat end and cut away peel from top to bottom along curvature of the fruit. The mango’s fruit can be cut off by sliding a sharp knife next to the seed along one side of the mango. (You will end up with 2-inch “fillets,” which you can slice or chop according to how it will be used.)
And if this sounds like too much work, there’s always dried mangoes.
Sometimes, I ponder what it would be like to live in a warmer climate.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the Upper Midwest. Where else can you step out the back door and pick fresh vegetables from your garden (for up to six months), walk down the street and have nearly everyone who drives by wave at you, or hop into your car and be out in the country in less than a couple of minutes?
And that doesn’t even take into account that you can’t find a better place to raise a family.
Usually, my thoughts about residing in climes where it rarely gets colder than 50 degrees and the only precipitation is in the form of rain come to me after I’ve been out three or four days in a row shoveling snow in below-zero temperatures.
But more often, it’s when I’m eating a piece of fresh fruit, which brings me to the mango, the fruit of the mango tree, an evergreen that will grow as tall as 60 fee.
Mangoes are native to India (it’s the designated national fruit of that country as well as Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines), where it has been grown for more than 4,000 years. There are about 35 species and more than 400 varieties of the tropical fruit that are cultivated around the globe.
My interest in mangoes was piqued recently after the purchase of a few in Amazing Grains, the downtown Grand Forks food co-op, and a couple more from the East Side Hugo’s.
Both varieties were quite good but exhibited a slightly different taste. The Francine, a medium to large, flattened oval fruit that is soft and juicy with some fiber, was sweet yet a little spicy. It comes from Haiti. The Tommy Atkins, which is medium to large with an oval or oblong shape and probably is the most popular worldwide, was firm with a fairly fibrous texture. It hails from Mexico. (Most of the mangoes we buy here in the U.S. come from Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala and Haiti.)
Mangoes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, as well as a good source of potassium and contain beta carotene. They also are high in fiber, but low in calories (about 110 per average-sized mango), fat (only 1 gram) and sodium.
Popular worldwide
More mangoes are eaten fresh all over the world than any other fruit. (They’re available year-round.) They can be stored unripe at room temperature and take three to four days to ripen. Once ripe, mangoes should be stored in the refrigerator crisper, where they will keep for two to three days.
Besides being eaten raw, ripe mangoes can be sliced and canned or processed to juice, jams, jellies, nectars and preserves. Eastern and Asian cultures use unripe mangoes for pickles, chutney and relishes. In India, unripe mangoes are sliced, dried and made into powder for amchoor, a traditional Indian preparation used for cooking, as well as made into flour.
About my only complaint about fresh mangoes is that they can be a little messy. But if cut the right way, trips to the sink and paper towel rack can be cut down considerably.
When I asked Hawaii native Terry Repoyo about cutting mangoes, he told me slicing works the best. Terry, who is retired and lives in Grand Forks with his wife, Betty, said mangoes, along with mountain apples (also known as the Malay), were among his favorite fruits when he was growing up .
To slice a mango, cut off both ends of the fruit with a sharp thin-bladed knife. Then place the fruit on the flat end and cut away peel from top to bottom along curvature of the fruit. The mango’s fruit can be cut off by sliding a sharp knife next to the seed along one side of the mango. (You will end up with 2-inch “fillets,” which you can slice or chop according to how it will be used.)
And if this sounds like too much work, there’s always dried mangoes.
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