I Am Mango

The ‘queen of fruits’ is golden and deliciously sweet.

Sweet and juicy, I am deservedly known as ‘the food of gods’ – and the ‘queen of fruits’. My fragrant aroma is summer’s bouquet, and the first whiff of me on the fruit stands sends upstanding citizens into a frenzy – yes, my sweet scent heralds not only the arrival of mango season, but also that summer is just around the corner.

Golden in colour, I am the embodiment of sweet, sweet sunshine and often tied to happy childhood memories. Bite into my flesh and you will delight in my deliciousness as sweet, sticky juice cascades down your chin.

But not only am I a joy to eat, I am bursting with nutritional value.

High in energy and low in fat, I am a great source of calcium and vitamins A and C. In fact, just one 200-gram mango provides up to three times your recommended daily intake of these vitamins.

Healthy as a snack, I am also versatile in the kitchen. I am perfectly paired with chicken and prawns, can be tossed in a salad, made into a salsa, and thrown in cocktails, smoothies and desserts.

But, as Queen Victoria found out during her long reign on the British throne, ending in 1901, I demand even higher maintenance than a monarch. I have a short shelf life and am a reluctant traveller. So, it was hardly surprising that when she ordered that my supreme presence be shipped from India – a voyage that took six weeks – for a royal tasting, she was somewhat disappointed to find a shrivelled and foul-smelling specimen of me presented to her on an ornate tray.

To get the best out of me, I need to be stored at room temperature (1822°C) out of the sun until I ripen. You can then pop me in the fridge where I should last a few days to a week. And please don’t put me in a plastic bag to sweat, I need to breathe.

When selecting me, don’t be fooled by colouring. Contrary to popular belief, the blush of colour on some of my varieties does not indicate ripeness. Popular varieties of me such as Kensington Pride and Calypso are ready to eat when I am slightly soft to the touch and smell like, well, a mango!

FOOD OF THE GODS Nat ive to India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, I have grown in the Indian subcontinent for over 4000 years when I was first cultivated – although fossil evidence indicates that my early ancestors have been around for some 25 million years.

Around the fourth and fifth century BCE, Buddhist monks took my plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia. But it was the Portuguese who arrived in India in the 15th century and were so enamoured by my sweet nature, they started my spread throughout the world, taking me to the Philippines, South America and Africa. By the 1800s, I had arrived in Australia. Today I am commercially grown throughout tropical and subtropical areas around the globe.

I am adored by the Filipino people, who eat me fresh, processed, as flavourings to ice creams and pastries, and have crowned me their national fruit. Of the three well-known varieties of me grown in the Philippines, the Carabao is the most popular and the only variety exported.

In Thailand, it’s my Nam Doc Mai cousin who reigns supreme. Meaning the sweet juice of a flower, some argue her aroma resembles that of daffodils. She is also the largest, sweetest, least fibrous, and yellowest of my Thai cousins, some of which are green and others red when they are ripe.

For all these reasons it is no wonder I have been linked with gods and royalty. Legend has it that Buddha was meditating in the cool shade of my tree when he found tranquillity. In Hindu folklore, I am the beautiful

princess Surya Bai, the daughter of the sun god, Surya.

With so many myths and legends surrounding my regal nature, it is hardly surprising that I am still used today by several cultures in rituals such as weddings, public celebrations and religious ceremonies.

HOW TO EAT ME

While the eating of me is wrapped in ritual, some people find I can be a slippery beast. But I am quick and easy to prepare if given the ‘hedgehog’.

1. Simply hold me so my fattest parts, my cheeks, are to the side, then slice them off with a sharp knife, as close to the seed as possible.

2. Taking care not to cut through my skin, score three or four lines vertically down each cheek and again horizontal ly to form a hatched pattern.

3. Take hold of the edges of my cheek and turn inside out.

4. The cubes of my flesh can then be either sliced off to put in recipes, or simply bitten off to enjoy straight away.