Mango(e)s and Their Many Varieties

[weinoo]

I know there are many varieties of mangoes for sale, though often here in the United States, the mangoes in stores probably are picked a bit (or more) before they are truly ready.  I've mostly enjoyed the variety called Ataulfo (Honey) here; not as big a fan of the more fibrous Tommy Atkins variety, which is the one I most often see in stores, at street corner vendors, and often sold (outside busy subway stations) already cut up for quick eating out of plastic baggies.

 

A few days ago I was making my way around the upper east side, and encountered a vendor who happened to be selling these huge, green mangoes. So I bought two.

They are really pretty damn big...

 

 

And they're the Keitt mango, which ripens green with sometimes a little yellow or red blush.  Virtually fiberless, they are very good. I imagine before they get too ripe that they're good for mango salads. Or pickled mango. A huge amount of flesh in that big boy.

 

Mango experts or not - weigh in.

Edited September 30, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[ElsieD]

Great topic.  For fresh mangoes I buy Ataulfo, and I buy the Alphonso canned puree.  I have never seem canned Atauflo, and I have never seen canned Alphonso pieces.  I don't bother with any of the others.  Around here, there are only two types of mangoes sold in the grocery stores, the Atauflo and a larger green with a red blush that they never attach a name to.  The Alphonso puree I buy at a certain Indian store, the other Indian stores that I have been to don't carry Alphonso puree.

[weinoo]

18 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

a larger green with a red blush that they never attach a name to. 

 

Is there a sticker on it with a number?

 

My very poor guess might be the Atkins or Haden.

[ElsieD]

There is.  Pardon my ignorance but what is the number supposed to tell me?

[KennethT]

Keitt mangoes are great late season mangoes.  Last year a friend in LA sent me a box of them.  I've never seen them sold in NY.  If you let them ripen on the counter they get super sweet and the flesh is almost like a custard.  Messy but delicious.

 

There are some Vietnamese growers in Florida who grow a few different Thai varieties that are fantastic - some are even better green of which I'm a huge fan.  I think my wife likes the green mango more than the ripe ones!

[weinoo]

15 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

There is.  Pardon my ignorance but what is the number supposed to tell me?

 

Usually Some of the time, you can find out the variety of mango from the number. If the number starts with "9" the produce is organic.

http://bobbywires.com/plu-1.php?S=V&L=M&V=MANGO

 

16 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I think my wife likes the green mango more than the ripe ones!

 

But some are ripe when green! Like these Keitts!

[weinoo]

There may be all sorts of weird stuff embedded in this label - as a matter of fact, who knows happens once you eat the mango - it might turn me magnetic 🤣 !

 

[weinoo]

24 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I've never seen them sold in NY.

 

I haven't seen them down in my neighborhood, but this corner stand was on Lex and 69th (se corner), right near Hunter College subway station. If he's got them, then they have to be around elsewhere (at corner stands, that is).

[ElsieD]

8 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

Usually Some of the time, you can find out the variety of mango from the number. If the number starts with "9" the produce is organic.

http://bobbywires.com/plu-1.php?S=V&L=M&V=MANGO

 

Thank you.  I'll note the number next time I'm in a grocery store and compare it to the list.

[Shelby]

Misfits tells me that they are offering a Kent mango.  Are those any good?

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, Shelby said:

Misfits tells me that they are offering a Kent mango.  Are those any good?

I don't think I've ever had one, but people who have said they liked it.  It's supposed to have good flavor and is fiberless.

[DianaB]

I have given up buying mangoes because even those sold as ripe and ready to eat would be better used as building materials than food.  They are cheap and I guess that this is the problem, they are no doubt harvested too soon with mechanical equipment and then stored too cold to allow for natural ripening, this is all guess work but I know that for similar reasons many peaches and nectarines sold in the UK will never ripen.  Mangoes are not identified by variety here, another unfortunate trait that applies to most fruit and veg locally.  Very different in France where one can choose variety of most fruits at least.

 

I have recently come across a specialist fruit and veg merchant selling hard to source items through the post.  I’ve been buying finger limes from them, impossible to find in shops/markets but good quality from this mail order company.  Glancing through their listings I note that in exchange for huge amounts of money when compared to buying from a local shop one can choose from various mango varieties:

alphonso

atoulfo

green mango

banana mango

bori

bocado

bombay

ceylon

coco-boeuf

dasheri

fazli

graham

haden

harumanis

himsagar

hendi

honey

hoo loc

julie

kabish

 

I’ll stop there!  Any advice on which varieties might bring the most enjoyment as a dessert fruit would be much appreciated!  Unfortunately the company concerned doesn’t seem keen to engage in correspondence to help identify the right fruit to purchase.

[ElsieD]

We have a choice between the atoulfo and Kent.  I love the atoulfo, never buy the Kent.  They are not that big but are delicious and have little to no fiber.  This may interest you.

 

https://www.mango.org/mango-varieties-availability/

[Annie_H]

I gave up on mangoes and avocados a half dozen years ago. Until I found by accident the champagne mango. ---a marketing name so seems to be atoulfo and/or honey. I've only had a handful of varieties over the years. A couple weeks ago I purchased a case of 15 champagne. Small and pale yellow when ripe. Tender and creamy and like Elise says above, almost no fiber. The pit is small and thin. 

I froze half, a couple went into a hot sauce fermentation. Two still in the fridge. I think I paid 17$ for the case of 15.

Similarly the avocados are tiny but very small pits. Very dense for their size. 6 for 5$. I don't blink at cost being so good and very rare to get even a hint of brown in the flesh. Previously avocados from any market were a roll of the dice. One in five would be horrid inside and barely ripe. In the three years I've been getting the small avocados from the same/similar source, maybe two have had a bit of brown---one was hidden and lost in the back of the fridge. (way over ripe)