Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Foods / Good advice / Retail / Travel Advisory Pursuing An Elusive Mango, Finding A Worthy Substitute
Posted by Nicki Wood on Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 11:00 AM
We went in search of Alphonse mangoes this weekend, the legendary mango of India. You can always buy the canned pulp at Indian groceries, and it is intoxicatingly sweet and perfumey in smoothies and ice cream.
The last few years, Apna Bazaar on Nolensville Road has received shipments of Alphonse mangoes. At $40 per case, they better be good. We made the trip and asked the proprietor, who explained that he wouldn't be getting Alphonse mangoes this year. The air freight is about $13 per case, and there's a further markup for irradiation and steam sterilization required by the USDA. That steam treatment put little tiny black spots under the skins of the fruit, so people didn't want them, especially at $40 case. Apparently it's different in Canada.
Whole Foods has Champagne Mangoes, which also get a lot of chatter among mango lovers. We bought a couple to test against Mexican-grown mangoes with an ordinary and forgettable varietal name. Let's call them "
Herman."
Champagne versus Herman. The Champagne mango is homely and yellow. Herman is plump and red. Champagne mango is silky in texture, with no fibers. Herman mangoes have firm flesh with fibers that will necessitate eventual flossing. Champagne mangoes have a concentrated, complex perfume. Herman mango -- watery.
The Champagne mango really is better, and at two for $1 at Whole Foods, they're about the same price as Herman mangoes found any number of places.
Comments (5)
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I bought four of the champagne mangoes on Friday and I'm already half-way through. They're similar to the variety found in Thailand (and served with sticky rice, mmmm...). I love them.
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Does anyone remember Solero bars, the popsicles with vanilla ice cream inside and mango sorbet on the outside? I love those.
When I lived in Mexico, we always had the Champagne mangoes. I was really confused by the "Herman" mangoes when I tried them here. Blegh. They have nothing on these.
I don't remember the Solero bars but have you tried the Mango and Cream bars at Trader Joes? They're small and utterly delicious--like a paleta with a stripe of creamy vanilla ice cream on the side.
You know why those mangoes are stringy, don't you? It is precisely because of the hot water / boiling water bath the USDA makes them take when they come into the country. Buy American mangoes and you will find a whole different animal (er, mango). Mangoes raised here usually come in around May -- we buy in quantity and freeze them for year round enjoyment.
