In two shades of green
Lighter-coloured harumanis mangoes are just as sweet
KANGAR: It is a case of two shades of green for visitors to Perlis hunting for the wondrously sweet harumanis mango to break fast with.
This fasting month coincides with the peak of the harumanis season. Buyers will find that some stalls sell them in two shades of green.
“The light green ones were wrapped in carbon-coated paper while they grew on the trees,” said fruit seller Herniza Abdullah.
The classic harumanis has a deeper, forest green hue even when it is ripe. These mangoes, said Herniza, were shielded from the elements with typical paper.
“But when carbon-coated paper is used to block off all sunlight, we get a light green harumanis. The taste is also different,” she explained.
All this came about when agriculturists discovered that exposure to sunlight affects how the harumanis mango ripens. Farmers were quick to apply the technique.
Herniza is one of several fruit sellers at the stalls set up by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) at Ulu Pauh beside Universiti Malaysia Perlis campus along the Changlun-Kuala Perlis Highway.
When The Star visited the stalls to check on their prices, Herniza offered a sampling of the light green and dark green variants.
While both have the fragrance and classic nectar-like sweetness of harumanis, the dark green variety leaves a mildly tangy and even citrusy tingle on the tongue.
The light green fruit lacks that but it is sweet and smooth like honey.
Herniza said it is up to farmers to wrap their fruits in carbon-coated paper, and in recent years more of them are doing it, though the deeper green hue is more popular.
She said that sales have been good because of the Ramadan month.
Both varieties were going for RM28 per kg at her stall, while larger harumanis at other stalls were selling for as high as RM35 per kg.
Other makeshift stalls sell smaller harumanis from their own groves at RM20 per kg.
Fama recently launched a Ramadan Harumanis campaign to encourage Muslims to include the fruit when they break fast and have their sahur (pre-dawn meals).
The Raja Muda of Perlis Tuanku Syed Faizuddin Putra Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail recently called on Malaysians to include the harumanis in their Hari Raya gift hampers.
Fama is selling grade A harumanis via its website, www.agrobazaar.com.my, in sets of five boxes for RM475, with each box containing three kilos of fruit.
No delivery service is provided, and buyers must pick up the fruits at Fama centres in Kuala Lumpur, Puchong or Dengkil, Selangor.