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Master guide to pick the right mangoes
As our markets are fast filling with the juiciest of mangoes, here are a few tips from experts in the city on how to find the natural smell, sweetness and shade before buying the ‘King of Fruits’.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The long awaited mango season is upon us bringing in myriad varieties of the national fruit loved by the young and the old alike. Among the commonly available kinds in the city include Alphonso, Banganapalli, Badami, Malgova, Imam Pasand and Rasalu, which can grow in and around our state. Other types also include Chaunsa, Dasheri and Langra, which are native to North India, but sold across the country. With so many variants on offer, picking the right fruit can get overwhelming. So, we bring you expert guidance to help you choose the right mangoes so as to gorge on this delicious goodness to the fullest. Alladi Mahadevan, who runs The Organic Farm on the city’s outskirts, grows vegetables and fruits sans pesticides. He has also been cultivating nearly 12 kinds of mangoes for the past few years. He shares his knowledge on how one can shop for mangoes and store them to treat the taste buds right.
Smell the fruit
Buying the right mangoes starts with smelling the fruit, Mahadevan says. “Many people assume they should buy those mangoes that are orange in colour. Buyers should keep in mind that for the fruit to turn orange, the sellers would most often use chemicals to aid artificial ripening. Instead, one can go by its fragrance and look for a mango that smells ripe. Smelling at the tip of the fruit will help one know whether the fruit is ripe enough,” he says. If the tip doesn’t smell of a mango, then it certainly won’t taste like one!
Opt for the semi-ripe
With the use of artificial ripening agents, mangoes bought from stores often seem tasteless. To taste the fruit’s nectar fully, buy semi-ripe ones, the mango expert says. “Allowing the fruit to ripen naturally can enrich its taste. One can buy semi-ripe mangoes and store them in a box of hay straw or in a rice bag to ripen naturally at home,” he adds.
Love thy native mango
Native varieties of mangoes have an advantage over their imported counterparts by being able to withstand the climate and growing despite all odds. So, the next time you spot Malgova, Totapuri, Jawari and Banganapalli mangoes, which grow predominantly across the state, put your money on them over varieties from other regions, Mahadevan asserts.
Keep away from refrigerator
While the summer may make you love your fruit served cold, mangoes might not like your refrigerator, the organic farmer says. The taste of the fruit gets affected due to the cold temperatures and in no time, the mango ends up tasteless.
Know your maanga
- Commonly available Alphonso mango, a variant native to Maharashtra, is a medium-sized fruit, hailed as the king of mangoes. The flesh is usually saffron-coloured.
- South Indian pride Banganapalli, which takes its name from the region it belongs to in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, also grows in Tamil Nadu. A good fruit of this type should ideally be firm with a golden yellow skin.
- While buying mangoes for pickling — remember, the sourer the mango is, the longer its shelf life.
- Choose Kilimooku mango (featuring a tip in the shape of a bird’s beak) for pickles with shorter shelf life and Avakai mango for longer pickling. The sourness helps it absorb more spices and remain spicy.
- Connect with a mango grower if you can to make sure your mangoes were grown free of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.
Gourmet it up
While the best way to relish a mango is eating the fruit as it is, Chef Sujan
Mukherjee, the executive chef at Taj Coromandel, says it can be used in a multitude of cuisines. “A ripe mango can be turned into chutney or a bread spread/jam, mango jelly, sorbet, mousse, butter and even foam. Bengali cuisine uses mango in mishti doi (fermented sweet made of milk and jaggery/sugar), sandesh and rasmalai (both made from milk and sugar). Across Asia, except for Chinese and Japanese cuisines, there is a huge influence of mango in food,” he says. Apart from the usual mango dal or rice, think of using raw mango to add a sour element to your curry and stir fry. A raw mango eaten with sticky rice and coconut milk can make for the quickest yet scrumptious dessert. Bring out your mangoes the next time you have a cocktail night by using mango pulp to upgrade your drinks.
Mango in your pot
With the prices of mangoes rising sky high each year, growing your own fruit is the best way to beat the market. Even if you have no open space to own a mango grove, a pot is just enough to give life to your mango sapling, says farming consultant Anoop Kumar CP, who has mastered growing this majestic tree right at his home. “Cut up a plastic barrel or a 200-litre pot to plant your sapling. Choose soil in 1:1:1 ratio of sand, clay and farmyard manure (decomposed mixture of cow dung). Place the sapling to make sure graft is above the soil. Native varieties of mango saplings can withstand the climatic conditions better than others. A month before flowering of the tree (which usually happens around February), it should be pruned (cutting away dead leaves and branches),” Anoop explains.
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