the mango thread, (merged threads) Options

[arnab]

by the time we get to india (july 10) it will be too late for alphonsoes, langdas and daseris but i hope we'll get to eat some good ones anyway. anyone know what we might expect in delhi around that time?

in the meantime some bad news:

[Akronym]

According to the Orissa state Web site: "Prominent commercial mango varieties are Bombay Green, Fazil, Langra, Banganpalli, Totapuri, Lat sundari, Amprapalli, Malika and Chausa."

[arnab]

[gingerly]

first rajnikanth,now this.

[Jai Malhar]

Fruitfest in Goa
------------------

http://www.goa-world.com/goa/fruitfest/

[arnab]

does nobody want to tantalize us unfortunates away from the home countries with pictures of mangoes?

how expensive are alphonsoes these days?

also: what varieties can i reasonably expect to get decent representatives of in early july? my parents claim there will still be daseris on the market in delhi but i think they are humoring me--i don't recall daseris being around that long. alphonsoes and langdas will certainly be gone.

[loislane]

The Haydens have arrived for those stuck here. Wasn't bad.

[shanta]

The blind truth: Alfonso is king

[arnab]

[gingerly]

yes,and it's obvious she's being held against her will by mafco.

[Anjali]

Oh you ignorant people-- what have you learnt in life if you do not know the immeasurable quality of an alfonso when compared to the langda or the daseri? I mean, is there even a comparison there?

Anjali

[Swati]

Arnab,
Have you tasted Thai mangoes? As with your Peruvian bunch, I guess they lack the depth of flavour of some of the Indian varieties but are perfectly acceptable substitutes in the absence of any Indian ones. Last weekend I had some excellent ones with sweet sticky rice, truly sublime dessert.

[armagod]

Onto a new box of alphonsos: 7 pounds for the dozen in London.

edit to add:

Before alphonso season, I was picking up (more expensive) fresh Thai ones off a Chinese store. Not sure what the variety is called but they were long-ish and flat and not very fleshy. They were nowhere near so fragrant as alphonsos but were quite sweet and perfectly fine.

Sweet sticky rice, coconut milk and good luscious mango: tropical dessert heaven.

This post has been edited by armagod: May 19 2005, 04:44 AM

[gingerly]

is your favourite here?
and they're grown in florida.

edit:also

[Anjali]

I can't believe they grow alphonso, the true blue kind, here. How can they? It needs a konkani soil/culture/heart to grow these fantastic mangoes.

btw, Gingerly, do you own google?

Anjali

[gingerly]

au contraire Anjali..



slave to the google

[arnab]

thanks gingerly!

i have not heard of the majority of the indian mangoes listed on this page, but it is possible i have eaten some of them anyway.

swati, are these the thai mangoes you were referring to? if so, i think i've had them from the farmer's market (the stationary one on 3rd street) in l.a and also occasionally from asian stores in denver. a small, golden mango?

edit: now, how do i get these mangoes from this garden in south florida to my mouth in colorado?

This post has been edited by arnab: May 19 2005, 06:11 AM

[ajit]

[gautam]

Arnab,

I suspect i am way off in my calendar projections, but nevertheless will hazard that July 10 in dilli may Not be too late for langras and dasheris.

the punjab dasheris may be coming on the market just about then.

Also, Varanasi langra should still be available, as well the fag end of the malihabadi/lucknow dasheris.

How about the Saharanpur crop? Surely Rushina's husband could give you a better idea of when this crop is in; otherwise, you should scoot up to Saharanpur Fruit research station, or send a friend to break ice beforehand [like now; and here you can test who your true friends really are; those who will undertake the short journey by train of other vehicle to spur, inveigle thru charm, sifarish, sheer brazenness etc; no time to be coy; pull all strings; thakurani must taste of n. india's best, or we shall all have to fall on our swords or fish bontis]

sobewali/le ting another superb variety from punjab; talk to your chandigarh friends, get them to contact PAU friends, send you a basket. Contact IARI, ask your papa to phone them, SK Roy of the FRUIT preservation dept; may be retired; call every day, wear them down; they will be able to locate some of the finest. Magic of cold storage. You may even get some for free or nominal cost. Magic of GOI pricing! roj roj dharna ditey hobey-- nai nai bhoy hobei hobei joy khuley jabey ei daar; baba, koshte keshto mile; thakuranike aam khaoate holey ektu purushakara lagbey boiki

too much to write about langda--certainly not a bengal variety; more later.

are paakistani mangoes now being sold in india? if so, then the season is extended still further.

do not despair--chausa will be over but not langda of various provenances, ditto dasheri, ditto dasheri crossbreds.

This post has been edited by gautam: May 19 2005, 08:40 AM

[vikdoc]

[armagod]

Banganapalli is so favoured in Madras mainly because it's always been much more widely available there and for far longer. Most mango-buyers in the city would never have heard of the Alphonso and most likely see no reason to buy it without having been sold on it. The survey results aren't surprising at all when you consider that.

While you're at it, you might as well rail at Londoners who pick up expensive and inferior African, Brazilian, Thai, other mangoes all over the place, despite Alphonsos being available every year in several Indian stores and often for far less per unit. I guess you'd be glad not to live in London too.

That said, you might have a point, I should get out of London seeing how many people here like caribbean bananas.

[Anjali]

[arnab]

[armagod]

I don't trust these entirely, and you might well find some howlers in these sites, but:


http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/mango_ars.html

[hibiscus]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned the Goan Mancurado? Exquisitely sweet - though a trifle hirsute around the seed - and a worthy rival to the Alphonso!

"Pricey mango still eludes common man" read a headline in the Herald newspaper from Goa...
"It's mid-April and king fruit mango is still out of the reach of common man. The most delicious and favourite variety of mango 'mancurado' is being sold for Rs.600 to Rs.800 per dozen when actually the price should have dropped to Rs.150 to Rs.200 per dozen by now."
... tsk, tsk!

Meanwhile: A mango, while high in fibre, is also highly nutritious. It’s high in beta-carotene, and contains all four recognised anti-oxidants (Vitamin A, C, E and Selenium) that prevent heart disease, cancer and diabetes. One mango contains three times the recommended daily intake of beta carotene and vitamin A, says a bloke in my neck of the woods.

[bhaaskar]

gunDu in telugu means shaved or bald head, typically the heads you see in
tirumala. I thought I had eaten a lot of mangoes, but never heard of
a gundu mango in Andhra. May be it goes by a yet another name in AP?

There are several other kinds of mangoes grown in the coastal Andhra.
Some of them are "suvarNa rEkha" (literally means golden streak), these
have reddish streaks on mostly green skin. They turn golden yellow when
ripe. The raw green ones are very sour and are good for AvakAya. (mango pickle)

And then then the neelams and the ones we just call rasAlu. Both are prized
for AvakAya. the rasAlu (means "juicy") are so soft and juicy when ripe,
that we don't bother cutting them, we just squeeze them and suck all
the pulp and juice from the stem end. :drool: aaah.. true summer bliss.

kobbari mAmiDi (coconut mango) is full of sweet coconut like flesh
that is eaten raw. These grow up to be as big as coconuts.

[Anjali]

[jschyun]

Article that mentioned eating alphonse mangoes in Fla.

[Anjali]

I just heard an amusing mango story. An Indian friend told me that her husband keeps a semi-ripe mango in his car everyday which he consumes at night and replaces with another one the next day. Aparently the fruit fills his car with the typical mango smell and reminds him of home-- and it's a good way to ripen those mangoes as well.

Anjali

This post has been edited by Anjali: May 20 2005, 12:48 AM

[gingerly]

while a (good)alphonso is a beautiful thing,personally wouldn't give up all those peppery,chalky,wildly flavoured with peach and pineappley,even fibrous(if there's dental floss around!) varieties.




trying to think if i could drink one wine for the rest of my life..champagne..?naah


edit:http://www.the-south-asian.com/May-June2003/mango_tales.htm

This post has been edited by gingerly: May 20 2005, 01:02 AM