What to do with mangos?

[MJP]

I'm getting some Alfonso mangos soon as part of the whole shabang about Indian mangos coming in to the US after a 16-year ban. I'd like to preserve them somehow. How long do mangos usually keep in the fridge if they're ripe and ready to eat?

If they won't last too long, can I just freeze the pulp and the juice to use later?

Edited June 12, 2007 by MJP (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Mmm mangoes!! Thanks for reminding me it's that time of the year again. Do you get the Pakistani Honey Mangoes over there? The alfonso mangoes are a step up from the Brazilian and Caribbean ones but the Pakistani Honey ones are another level entirely. So sweet and juicy it almost make your teeth hurt.

Apart from sitting in the corner and devouring them I like to make mango lassi. Very refreshing substitute to fruit juice or milkshake to store in your fridge.

[MJP]

Most recipes for mango lassi I've seen have it lasting for 24 hours. I was thinking of something a lot more long-lasting.

The mangos I normlaly get are plain old Mexican mangos, which are still pretty delicious. My local Indian market just got a few boxes of Kesars in which are the best I've had yet, and they were accepting reservations for the Alfonsos. They said something like 95% of all Alfonso mangos in the first few shipments were allocated and the rest were up for grabs for wholesalers to bid on. O_O

At $35 a case, it seems criminal to just eat them, but that's what I plan to do with the Kesars. :-D I may just have one of the Alfonsos but I want to do something special with those since they're so rare and equally expensive.

[IlCuoco]

Chris Schlesinger's book (License to Grill) has a recipe for pickling mangoes. It may be what you're looking for (great cookbook, btw).

[Alisond]

You could make jam, chutney, salsa or preserve them in spirits for mango infused cocktails. You could also make sorbet and freeze that for a short while. Or you could candy them.

[nduran]

I make a kind of mango tapioca pudding that also works as an ice cream topping and keeps for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Just boil and rinse some tapioca pearls, add some coconut milk, palm sugar, a little bit of extra tapioca starch, vanilla and lots of fresh mango puree, then simmer and stir until it's thick.

[DCP]

Mango panna cotta is a wonderful way to use and highlight the fruit, but like other options mentioned, it doesn't keep long.

[The Old Foodie]

If they won't last too long, can I just freeze the pulp and the juice to use later?

←

Mango pulp and juice freeze well; frozen mango is fine for sorbets, ice-cream, cakes, pies, chutney etc. I freeze slices or pulp regularly - mangoes grow well here (although having said that, the last season was terrible for some reason).

[Prawncrackers]

After this talk of mango, i couldn't resist and bought a box of them. I bought the usual "honey mango" from Pakistan that i buy every year:

Did a bit of research and I think the term "honey mango" may be a generic name for Pakistani ones, probably dreamt up by the importer. Early in the season the majority of the "honey mangoes" are in fact of the Sindhri variety. Whatever they're called they've just filled my entire house with their sweet aroma! Time to get my fingers sticky.

Old Foodie, I didn't know you could freeze them. That's worth knowing nearer the end of the season, thanks

Mango panacotta sounds delicious too.

[liuzhou]

Baise is a city and prefecture in the west of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is near to Yunnan province and the border with Vietnam. In addition to being home to a number of Chinese ethnic minorities, it is also of some importance in Chinese history as the site of the 1929 Baise Uprising led by Deng Xiao Ping and which led to the Long March. Of more recent interest is that it is the mango centre for southern China.

 

This afternoon a dear friend, who lives there, sent me this box of Baise mangoes.

 

 

So, I opened it.

 

 

It's going to be mango heaven for a bit. I've earmarked a couple for a new batch of my favourite spicy mango relish, a few will be eaten au naturel but if anyone has a stunning idea for mangoes (I'm sure many of you do), then I'm all ears!

NB. Be very careful searching Google etc for Baise. It has a very different meaning in French!

Edited June 25, 2016 by liuzhou (log)

[sartoric]

Lucky Liuzhou.

I'd be pounding out a Thai som tam with some of those green guys.

What about mango chutney, or the middle eastern relish amba ?

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, sartoric said:

Lucky Liuzhou.

I'd be pounding out a Thai som tam with some of those green guys.

What about mango chutney, or the middle eastern relish amba ?

 

Thanks,

 

The mango relish I make is as near as I can get to a chutney. The problem here is getting hold of spices. No turmeric, for example. In fact, most of the Indian spices are unavailable.

Same problem with the amba.

 

But I'll look into some Thai.

[KennethT]

I'd also do a som tam green mango salad with one or two - assuming that they are truly green and not already starting to ripen.  Once ripe, I just love them au naturel or with some sticky rice that has been soaked with coconut cream, palm sugar and salt... my favorite dessert in the world...

[liuzhou]

18 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I'd also do a som tam green mango salad with one or two - assuming that they are truly green and not already starting to ripen.  Once ripe, I just love them au naturel or with some sticky rice that has been soaked with coconut cream, palm sugar and salt... my favorite dessert in the world...

 

They are ripe mangoes. The green colour is how this particular type comes, not a sign of lack of ripeness. Anyway, the fruit stalls are full of proper green papaya for som tam.

 

However, I have already thought of a couple of Thai / Laotian possibilities.

[shain]

I think no dish showcases good mangoes better then coconut rice. I go slightly nontraditional, and usually opt for non-sticky rice. I then let the coconut milk separate and brown, add a touch of chili, black pepper and enough salt to give it a savory backbone. Cut the mango into smallish cubes and mix into the warm rice. Then add a touch of mint.

The mango fruits look very promising this year, so hopefully, I'll soon have some ripe for picking, and this dish is the first thing to come.

 

Also, any leftover or over-ripe mango can be frozen and turned into a great yogurt based lassi or coconut milk based smoothie.

Edited June 25, 2016 by shain (log)

[Shelby]

Host's note: this post, and the ensuing conversation, were moved from the How do you Eat/Peel/Open a Mango? topic.

 

 

I've never had a mango before (to the best of my knowledge).  After seeing several posts lately and thinking that they looked really good ( @liuzhou had one for breakfast a while back) I decided to splurge and order 3 from Harry and David online (I joined a monthly club for a few months).

 

I had to google how to cut one up and I'm sure I butchered it but OH MY what have I been missing out on all these years????  Sweet...kind of like a cross between a cantaloupe and a peach...juice dripping down my arms.  I'm sad I only have two more!

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by Smithy
Added host's note (log)

[KennethT]

@Shelby I wish you could taste the ones in Asia!  They make any of the ones I've had in NY taste like cardboard. They've ruined me for 355 days a year (on a good year when I get to go to Asia in the summer)

[weinoo]

24 minutes ago, KennethT said:

@Shelby I wish you could taste the ones in Asia!  They make any of the ones I've had in NY taste like cardboard. They've ruined me for 355 days a year (on a good year when I get to go to Asia in the summer)

I get some pretty good ones here nowadays.

[KennethT]

Just now, weinoo said:

I get some pretty good ones here nowadays.

Yes, I've gotten pretty good too, but it's like comparing a Chevy to a Lamborghini.  The Chevy is pretty good and will reliably get you where you need to go, but no one would ever compare it to a Lamborghini

[SLB]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

I get some pretty good ones here nowadays.

Where?

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, SLB said:

Where?

Sometimes my guy on the corner.

[heidih]

10 minutes ago, weinoo said:

Sometimes my guy on the corner.

 

The corner guys rock. Here it is more the fruit cart guys - but still a nice option.

[weinoo]

2 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

The corner guys rock. Here it is more the fruit cart guys - but still a nice option.

 

Oh, he's a fruit/vegetable cart for sure...

 

 

Picture taken a long time (12 years) ago - the cart is much bigger and somewhat nicer now. The faux Mr. Softee truck is still around too.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Sometimes my guy on the corner.

I'm sorry, but I don't think that any mango that you get in the NY area, no matter how good your fruit distributor is, is going to compare to a tree ripened fruit.  Before going to SE Asia during mango season, I used to think that the Champagne or Ataulfo mangoes (grown in Mexico and picked green and "ripened' in a warehouse) were the best things ever - but once I had a mango in Thailand everything changed.  The whole perspective changes.  Don't get me wrong, I still get the ataulfo mangoes (much better than the Tommy Atkins variety, imo) but I can taste and smell the difference.

[MokaPot]

Yes, lots of differences in mangoes from different parts of the world. A friend who traveled to Africa told me that those were really, really good. She compared it to a peach & said that there was no stringy stuff close to the seed.