How middle class is your MANGO?
Yes, some ARE posher than others!
FORGET strawberries and cherries. This month, there’s just one bumper crop that’s got foodies salivating with anticipation — mangoes.
But not just any mangoes, and certainly not the rather hard, often disappointingly dull red and green varieties usually found in our supermarkets. Instead, this year — thanks to a combination of circumstances caused by the coronavirus — our market is being flooded with much tastier fruits, mostly grown in India and Pakistan.
Typically, these jewels are snapped up by the gourmet restaurant trade; chefs including Raymond Blanc and Jason Atherton sing their praises. But with the industry in lockdown, suppliers are offering them direct to consumers.
This means we’re in for a rare treat. In India, mangoes, such as the Alphonso, which is far sweeter than a typical supermarket mango, are referred to as the ‘fruit of the gods’.
Poets have extolled their virtues and mango festivals are held to celebrate their arrival each year. Hot debate rages over which of the many varieties is tastier.
There’s just one drawback: unlike supermarket varieties, typically picked and shipped before they are fully ripe for cost reasons, these must be harvested when ready to eat. That means they have a short season, and since ripe fruits are easily damaged, they’re more difficult and expensive to transport.
This year, however, because of pandemic across the world, lots of fruits have been left to ripen on trees while the restaurants that normally buy them are shut. As a result, there’s a glut of delicious mangoes available for us. So where can you get a taste — and how do you know which one you should buy?
Red Rickshaw, a specialist food retailer, is offering a 1.5kg box (about six, €11) to get you started, or 3kg for €21 (redrickshaw.com).
Five-Stars Honey Mangoes sources Chaunsa and Sindhri (also known as ‘honey’) mangoes directly from Pakistan, can also get them at an Asian grocer.
When buying fresh, you should choose mangoes that are slightly yielding, but not soft, when lightly squeezed, and that smell fruity. If the mangoes need to ripen further, wrap in newspaper for a couple of days — the fruit releases an odourless gas called ethylene, which speeds up ripening, and the paper will help trap it close to the fruit.
And, should you find yourself in the enviable position of having too many mangoes, you can always slice and pop them in the freezer for more sunshine joy in the weeks to come.
Throughout June it’s the Alphonso mango season — undoubtedly one of the most sought-after, which Raymond Blanc calls ‘perfection’ when added to Thai coconut milk sticky rice. From July, look for super sweet Langra, Sindhiri, and Chaunsa mangoes.
Asma Khan, founder of Soho’s Darjeeling Express restaurant, loves visiting her father’s mango orchards in Bulandshahr in India.
‘It’s the taste of my childhood,’ she says. Eating mangoes is messy (some suggest enjoying them naked in a bath) so they are a great option for the outdoor picnics we are all allowed now. Or why not try these top chefs’ mango recipes . . .
TASTY SALAD
JASON Atherton, owner of Pollen Street Social in London’s Mayfair, serves mango salad with grilled fish. His wife Irha is from the Philippines, where mango is much loved, and that is the inspiration for this salad. Stir-fry a finely sliced red onion in rapeseed oil until soft, add 2tsp tamarind paste and stir-fry for a few minutes.
Add to mango wedges in a bowl with washed leaves, chopped coriander and mint.
Next make a dressing by combining a deseeded green chilli and a knob of grated ginger. Blitz to form a paste, then add 3tbsp lime juice, 1tbsp honey, a little salt and 1tbsp rapeseed oil, and pour over salad.
MANGO SMOOTHIE
CREAMY mango lassi (smoothie) is considered an essential refresher in the roasting Indian summer. Chef Asma Khan recommends infusing a quarter of a tsp of good quality saffron threads in 1tbsp of warm milk and setting aside. Whip 900ml full-fat yoghurt and whisk in the pulp of four mangoes. Add the saffron-infused milk, plus sugar to taste. Serve over crushed ice.
INSTANT MOUSSE
COOK and food writer Mallika Basu’s instant mango mousse is the perfect quick treat. Slice and peel two fresh Alphonso mangoes, blitz in a food processor with four peeled and smashed cardamom seeds, then sweeten with soft brown sugar to taste. Stir 4tbsp lowfat creme fraiche into the pureed mango and serve.
SIMPLE SALSA
SPICY mangoes are a winning combination served with barbecued meat. Combine two peeled, chopped tomatoes, one finely shredded green chilli, a crushed garlic clove and two Alphonso mangoes, peeled and cut into cubes. Stir in a grated, thumb-size piece of ginger, the zest and juice of half a lime, a pinch of caster sugar and salt and plenty of chopped dill.