Mangos

[urmaniac13]

Urmaniac, I get the same feeling when I see the tomatoes, fresh basil and not to mention the aged parmesean and other yummy cheeses that come from Italy.

It's good that some of the Italian goodies have made it to the US. I guess it would have been a huge loss not to have experienced the nutty and delish cheeses from Italy.

Yes Yakuta, that is true, and I feel really, really blessed about it. And I am constantly reminded of it everytime I hear how much a good evoo costs in many parts of the world...

And anyone ever tried a fresh mozzarella made out of buffalo milk, and fresh ricotta made out of sheep milk??


Oh and Chopstix!! I want to participate in that Mango contest!!

 

[college_cook]

I heard that fresh mozz. made from buffalo milk should be eaten the same day it is made? If that's the case then I don't imagine that I'll ever get to try any.

As for mangos, they aren't very popular here in Indiana, the markets always have the on sale, 2 for 1 because noone buys them but me! I really love them, but I never grew up with them, and noone around me really wants to have anything to do with them, so I don't even know how to properly remove the big seed in the middle (called the stone right? is it a seed?), and I don't know if you can eat the skin from a mango either. I actually bought some yesterday, to make a mango salsa to go with some carnitas and tostadas... and I was also toying with the idea of making some sort of Asian-inspired spicy mango sauce to get drizzled over grilled chicken or pork, or salads.

I haven't done this yet so I can't tell you how it would turn out, but I was going to puree the mango and cook it down just a little bit with a teeny bit of sugar added. After that I think I want to add some soy, red pepper flakes, and a bit of Siracha, perhaps a bit of honey, and then I was thinking of trying to add a little bit of vinegar or oil, to make a sort of vinagrette. I've never really gone into vinagrette making territory before, so I'm not even sure if this is a good way to make this... but I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

 

[urmaniac13]

No CC, while it is true that buffalo mozzarella should be eaten while they are very fresh, but the rule doesn't go so far as that you need to eat it on the same day it has been produced. That would make it impossible to market even in Italy!! If it is well preserved it usually lasts about 5 days, though we usually finish it up much sooner...

It is about the same way here in Rome, about Mango. No one seems to know what to do with them. My partner Cris was like that once, but after I made him a salad with prawn and coconut, he immediately grew tastes for it, and he scoured the interenet to explore many possibilities with them (and he went through the same process with avocado, after tasting my guacamole...), now it is really amusing seeing him approaching a bewildered customer at a market with a mango in his/her hand, then go on to give them a quick course on "how to enjoy mangos"!! lol
But here they cost a lot all the same, about €1 a piece or €4 a kilo, so we really need to use them wisely!

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Urmaniac, wow fresh buffalo mozzarella - No just have seen on T.V. and tried fresh mozzarella but doubt it was the real deal. Also fresh ricotta would surely be a treat and not to mention mascarpone - my favorite.

It's not just EVOO that costs a lot (I bought a small bottle for like 16 dollars which I thought was expensive but it's really good) it's also balsamic vinegar. The aged ones are super pricey here and a little goes a long way so it's O.K. to pay but imagine if these things never made it to the U.S. people would not know what they are missing.

Collegecook I live in Illinois and it's the same with mangoes here. The only place you see them in huge demand are farmer markets that are visited by Asians - Indians and our other neighbours who are familiar with the fruit.

The pit of the mango is not edible but as kids we used to ensure we sucked every bit of goodness out of it before discarding it, my kids (born and brought up in America have also learned the fun in this, they never let me throw out the pit until they suck on it). The skin is not edible either if it's ripe. Although in a raw mango (green) that is used for pickling you cut the mango with the skin.

To cut a mango you peel it and then cut around the pit. You can then cut the bigger peices into smaller more even ones and then just use the mango around the pit as a treat for yourself, so there is really no waste

 

[Half Baked]

In Maryland, I could get a case of 12 for $5. They are $2 apiece here in Atlanta and they aren't very good but those of us who love mangos have to deal with it.

 

[GB]

And for those to clumsy to try cutting the pit out, Oxo to the rescue.

 

[shpj4]

I like to skin the mangoes first and then store them in my refrigerator. I love eating them just plain.

 

[karadekoolaid]

Mangoes - ahhh what glory.
I've just made 3 kgs of Mango Pickle, adapted from a Rajasthani recipe I found on the internet. Extremely hot, wonderfully creamy - and very tasty.
We make something called " Jalea de Mango" here in Venezuela, from green mangoes: skin, boil, cook, add sugar, allow to set - thick jelly with a tart flavour yummy yummy.

Mango jiuce - mix fresh mango with a lttle water, sugar and ice to make a " Batido de Mango"

Mango Chicken: cook some chicken with a little onion, ginger, curry and thinly sliced carrots. Add a glass of water and a glass of white wine. Cook until almost ready, then add a cup of mango cubes and a Tbsp of grated coconut.

 

[XeniA]

... Although in a raw mango (green) that is used for pickling you cut the mango with the skin.

To cut a mango you peel it and then cut around the pit. You can then cut the bigger peices into smaller more even ones and then just use the mango around the pit as a treat for yourself, so there is really no waste ...

Or, so goes the theory. Maybe I'm just clumsy like GB's suggesting?!

Last weekend I made yet another batch of mango chutney (a milder version for complaining husband). Got beautiful big green chutneys because the batch prior to that I'd used green and I just LOVED the "bite" the pieces of mango retained in the chutney ...

Ah-ah, however, did you know? Mangoes can stay green on the outside and be very, very ripe on the inside? Thank heavens I squeeze-tested them after a few days of waiting for them to begin to redden -- they gave a little when I squeezed so I thought I'd better get on with it.

Anyhow ... I made an incredible MESS "peeling" them! The first few swipes at it went well, but the further I got and the more I had to grip the already-peeled part in my left hand, the more difficult it all got. At least twice it shot out of my hand -- kind of like a soapy baby!

As I was doing it over the pot I was making the chutney in, no biggie -- just got a fair bit of slush and juice in it, however, maybe for next time somebody could tell me how one is SUPPOSED to cut a ripe mango? God forbid I ever want to serve attractive chunks of it!

 

[Chopstix]

All this talk about mango reminded me of a comment by an American lady when she was in the Philippines. She was describing the taste of the mango there and the only way she could phrase it was that it's the closest thing to sunshine that she has ever tasted. What a nice description -- I've never forgotten that!

 

[Gretchen]

I like to skin the mangoes first and then store them in my refrigerator. I love eating them just plain.

How do you keep them from turning brown quickly!!

Let me recommend Daisy's shrimp, avocado, and mango salad on the first page. THAT is a wonderful recipe. I have also used orzo instead of rice in it.

 

[Chopstix]

How do you keep them from turning brown quickly!!

Good question! I've never tried putting it in lemon water to prevent browning from oxidation. Has anyone tried? Normally, we don't skin the mangoes until about ready to eat.

 

[GB]

I have never had magos turn brown on me after peeling. I had a bowl of mango sitting in my fridge, covered with platic wrap (but not pushed down or anything) for at least 3 days and there was no brown at all.

 

[Chopstix]

I have encountered browning when kept unskinned in the fridge overnight. Even covered with cling wrap, not pushed down though. It seems to happen more with very ripe mangoes.

 

[Chopstix]

Well, the mango blind taste test was conducted a few days ago as a fun activity at DH's conference at a beachside resort south of Bangkok. The best mangoes from the following seven countries were sampled: (Too bad Yakuta, India is not represented as the business there is still being set up.)

Indonesia
Vietnam
Philippines
Vietnam
Malaysia
China
Thailand

All the mangoes were served buffet-style without labels. Each of the 30+ participants tasted all the mangoes and were allowed to cast a single vote for the best tasting mango.

The result? Indonesia got 0 votes. All the rest got 1 or 2 votes except for the second highest scorer which was the Philippines with 6 votes and the hands-down winner which was...




... Thailand with 23 votes.

Of course people can argue that the taste test is inconclusive due to difference in seasonality of the various mango species but ... let's not go there. This was just done in the spirit of fun and friendly competition. DH said they'll try to do it again next year. Hopefully next time it will be during summer as that's when mangoes are normally at their best.

A sidelight: Because they don't have mangoes in China, the Chinese folks brought some sort of Chinese pear instead. This was included in the taste test. The funny thing was that China got 2 votes!!! It rated higher than some of the real mangoes!

 

[XeniA]

Soooo ... would they be looking for new employees at your hubby's company?

 

[attie]

"the Chinese folks brought some sort of Chinese pear instead."
Would it have been called Ya fruit?
Great report Chopstix, are you able to tell us the varieties of Mango that you taste tested. I would have loved to have been there.

 

[Snoop Puss]

I just love mangoes. I'm so jealous you have lots. Peel and cut into slices. Make a syrup from a little water, white sugar and lime juice. Make it a little sharp because of the sweetness of the mangoes. Pour over the fruit and leave to marinade for a while and for the mango flavour to infuse into the syrup. This is one of my all-time favourite fruit desserts and could hardly be easier (apart from peeling the mangoes!).

 

[attie]

I just love mangoes. I'm so jealous you have lots. Peel and cut into slices. Make a syrup from a little water, white sugar and lime juice. Make it a little sharp because of the sweetness of the mangoes. Pour over the fruit and leave to marinade for a while and for the mango flavour to infuse into the syrup. This is one of my all-time favourite fruit desserts and could hardly be easier (apart from peeling the mangoes!).

I would imagin that your climate would be good for growing Mangoes, ours are ready to pick around Christmas time so it's great, they realy are something nice to eat, We make a syrup with the water and sugar but add sliced onions to it, never thought about Lime juice, thanks for that.

 

[GB]

Facinating! Thanks for the report. I wish I could have helped judge