Mango Mania

Mmmm mangoes, undeniably delectable! Love them and most foods that are flavoured so.

The mango season I hear has come to an end for the year in the tropics where they boom. New Zealand has world class fruits, but mangoes are sadly just not suited to grow in our climate. Our neighbour Australia though does grow their share.

The amazing Mango (genus Mangifera) is native to the South Asia regions and over the years has been widely cultivated to grow successfully in various other tropics, including regions in South America and even parts of our neighbouring Australia. Mangoes hugely vary in taste, size, texture and colour. This is influenced by the environment they grow in.  

Mangoes from a Farmer’s Market on a road trip to Geelong (Australia) and the resulting smoothies I made from them.

 

Ready for export, Alphonso mangoes are considered one of the best varieties.

I’ve also had the chance a couple of weeks back to try for the first time an Alphonso mango, considered one of the best in terms of richness and flavour. Not to mention price, cost me $6 for a single fruit!







My mango outlets include the supermarket (when exported), tinned purees/pulps from specialist stores and Maaza Mango drink (made in the UAE incidently).

Maaza Mango Drink & two varieties of canned mango pulp

Mango drinks are an awesome summer treat. Here’s a mango mocktail recipe I love. Hope to make it again when the weather gets warmer.

Mango Pina Colada-styled Smoothie Recipe

1 large ripe mango, peeled, seeded and cubed

1 1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/2 C heavy cream

1 (14 ounce/400 g) can coconut milk

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 1/4 cup ice-cubes

                                                                                                                                                              

Place the ice, sugar, pineapple juice, cream, and coconut milk into a blender. Blend until smooth, pour into tall glasses and serve. You could use a drop of red food colouring to draw a design through the glass. This amount makes 4-5 servings.

Mangoes have long had a reputation of being a ‘fattening’ fruit, given its sweetness and heavenly taste. But many findings say contrary. It’s found to be great for clearing skin blemishes, lowering cholesterol and also has a high antioxidant content. Well great reasons to dig in then!

Lil Sis J