BY THE SLICE
Don’t choke on your chausa, but mango varieties around the world are starting to explode. While India still produces 65% of the world’s mangoes, Indian mango types make up just 1% of those sold worldwide. And nations like Tanzania, Israel and South Africa are developing varieties that may change the game completely.
“The world differs widely in what people want from mangoes,” says Dayakrishna Sharma, vice-president of the All India Mango Growers’ Association, who has been researching mango cultivars. “Our palate prefers strong flavours. In the West, mangoes tend to flavour drinks or go into salads that require heat. And customers tend to buy just one at a time. So while we prize sweet, soft mangoes, others develop ways to make firmer, less fibrous ones.”
The Philippines: The island nation is obsessed with record-breaking. In 1995, their Carabaro variety made it to the Guinness Book as the sweetest mango in the world. In 2009, they set another record, for heaviest mango, at 3.5 kg.
USA: Most local hybrids come from Florida. Popular types include the large, oval, green Kiett, and the ambitiously named Sensation, which Sharma describes as having “glossy red skin”.
Then there’s the Tommy Atkins, the Basa of mangoes – so bland, it’s been giving the fruit a bad name since 1922. It’s named for the farmer who kept submitting the mango for commercial sale in the 1940s and ’50s. It was deemed “unremarkable” by the tasting panel, but growers loved the size and long shelf life. By the ’70s the Atkins was planted more than any other type in Florida.
The Haden, another popular type, traces its ancestry to Malgova mangoes from Tamil Nadu, sent over from India in 1889. Other Florida mangoes include the Kent (green-yellow, large, creamy), the Gold Nugget (virtually fibreless, patented in 1990) and the Van Dyke (rich, sweet, small and popular in Europe).
Jamaica: This is now the home of the Bombay mango — developed from a single seed brought over by Indian immigrants. The fibreless, orange flesh is said to be rich and spicy; it is no longer grown in India.
Haiti: Say Bonjour to Madame Francique. No one knows why she’s named that but she’s Haiti’s only mango export to the US – her skin can withstand the hot-water and cold-water baths that are necessary to resist fly infestation. The fruit is kidneyshaped, and has a rich, sweet-spicy taste. Considered one of the Caribbean’s best.
Israel: The emerging mango superpower has the world’s highest yield per acre, with most varieties descended from American mangoes introduced in the 1970s. Popular types include the Maya (juicy, developed in the ’40s and named for the horticulturist’s wife) and the Shelli (delicate, apple-shaped, lasts a month). “In the US, the Tommy Atkins is slowly being replaced by the Maya,” Sharma says.
Egypt: Their mangoes came from Sri Lanka; the first shrubs were planted in 1825. Today, Egypt exports to 20 countries in Asia and Europe. In demand are the Owais (sugary, dry), Zebdea (white, sweet, buttery) and those with names like, ahem, Indian and AlFons.
Mexico: More than half of this nation’s mangoes are eaten in America. The top type, Ataulfo, is also called the Champagne mango, Adolfo, or honey mango, for its gold colour, thick flesh and intense sweet taste. It’s likely a hybrid from mangos planted 200 years ago by Filipino workers.
Australia: Seeds from India, Ceylon, the East Indies and the Philippines were on boats headed to Australia with the earliest settlers in North Queensland. By 1875, one plantation held 40 varieties from India alone. Australians take pride in their Honey Gold and Kensington Pride.