Mango

From New World Encyclopedia
Mango
Immature Black Mango fruit
Immature Black Mango fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantaeia
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Mangifera
L.
Species

About 35 species, including:
Mangifera altissima
Mangifera applanata
Mangifera caesia
Mangifera camptosperma
Mangifera casturi
Mangifera decandra
Mangifera foetida
Mangifera gedebe
Mangifera griffithii
Mangifera indica
Mangifera kemanga
Mangifera laurina
Mangifera longipes
Mangifera macrocarpa
Mangifera mekongensis
Mangifera odorata
Mangifera pajang
Mangifera pentandra
Mangifera persiciformis
Mangifera quadrifida
Mangifera siamensis
Mangifera similis
Mangifera swintonioides
Mangifera sylvatica
Mangifera torquenda
Mangifera zeylanica

Taxonomy

The mango (plural mangos or mangoes), Magnifera indica L., is the most commercially-important fruit crop in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae (Cashew or poison ivy family). Other members of this family include cashew, pistachio, and the mombins. Anacardiaceae contains 73 genera and about 600-700 species, characterized by their resinous bark and caustic oils in leaves, bark, and fruits. The genus Magnifera contains about 35 species, although some authors put the number as high as 69. Up to 15 other species besides M. indica produce edible fruit, including the water mango M. laurina, and the wild, forest mango from which M. indica is thought to have descended, M. sylvatica.

Origin

The mango originated in the Indo- Burma region, where it is still found growing wild in the forests, especially in the hilly areas of the north-east. The cultivated mango is probably a natural hybrid between M. indica and M. sylvatica. Selection of wild types has occurred for 4000-6000 years, and vegetative propagation for at least 400 years in India.

The ancient Hindu texts the Vedas and the Puranas, written as far back as 2000 B. C., are replete with references to the mango. One of the earliest HIndu myths calims that the tree is the very transformation of Prajapati, the progenitor and creator of all creatures. The mango is widely-accepted as a romantic symbol, adn as a wish-fulfilling tree it is commonly associated ideas of fertility and fecundity. The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word mangaai, and was popularized by the Portuguese after their Indian exploration, hence the word 'manga' in Portuguese. The mango is now widely cultivated as a fruit tree in frost-free tropical and subtropical climates throughout the Indian subcontinent, North America, Central America, [[]South America]], the Caribbean, south and central Africa and Australia.

Botanical Description

Mango trees are large trees, reaching 10-30 m (30 to 100 ft) in height, with a broad, rounded canopy which may, with age, attain 30-38 m (100-125 ft) in width, or a more upright, oval, slender crown. The tree is long-lived, some specimens being known to still bear fruit at 300 years of age. Leaves are lanceolate to linear, evergreen in color, and have prominent light colored veins and entire margins. Emerging leaves on new growth flushes are bronze-red before maturation and appear wilted. One or two groth flushes occur per years, with flushess appearing sporadically across the tree's canopy. Full-grown leaves may be 10-32 cm long and 2-5 cm broad, and may persist for several years.

Tiny, red-yellow flowers are borne in profuse, pyrimidal, branched clusters of hundreds to as a many as 4,000 individuals. Terminal panicles are 6-40 cm long. The flowers give off a mild sweet odour suggestive of lily of the valley, and 25 to 95 percent of the flowers are male while the rest hermaphroditic. Panicles sprouting in the bloom season or in shaded parts of the canopy tend to have more hermaphroditic flowers. Flowering occurs 1-3 months after panicles are initiated in terminal buds and are triggered by low temperatures or seasonally dry conditions. Chemical application of ethepon, KNO3, and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) is used to either induce flowering, or enhance the proportion of hermaphroditic flowers. After the flowers mature, the fruit takes from 3-6 months to ripen.

The mango fruit is a drupe; when mature, it hangs from the tree on long stems. Mangos are variable in size, from 6-25 cm long, 7-12 cm wide, with a weight of up to 2.5 kg (4 to 5 lbs). The ripe fruit is variably colored yellow, orange and red, reddest on the side facing the sun and yellow where shaded; green usually indicates that the fruit is not yet ripe, but this depends on the cultivar, or variety. Some mangos have a turpentine odor and flavor, while others have a rich and pleasant fragrance. The flesh ranges from pale yellow to deep orange and is extremely juicy, with a flavor range from very sweet to subacid to tart.

In the center of the fruit is a single flat, oblong stone that can be fibrous or hairless on the surface, depending on the cultivar. Inside the shell, which is 1-2 mm thick, is a paper-thin lining covering a startchy seed that is either monoembryonic (usually single-sprouting) or polyembryonic (usually producing more than one seedling).

Mango tree with flowers

Cultivation and uses

It is easily cultivated and there are now more than 1,000 cultivars, ranging from the turpentine mango (from the strong taste of turpentine, which according to the Oxford Companion to Food some varieties actually contain) to the huevos de toro ("bull's balls", from the shape and size). The mango is reputed to be the most commonly eaten fresh fruit worldwide. Mangos also readily naturalize in tropical climates. Some lowland forests in the Hawaiian Islands are dominated by introduced mangos and it is a common backyard fruit tree in South Florida where it has also escaped from cultivation.

The mango is a popular fruit with people around the world. However, many mango farmers receive a low price for their produce. This has led to mangoes being available as a 'fair trade' item in some countries.

The fruit flesh of a ripe mango contains about 15% sugar, up to 1% protein, and significant amounts of vitamins A, B and C. The taste of the fruit is very sweet, with some cultivars having a slight acidic tang. The texture of the flesh varies markedly between different cultivars; some have quite a soft and pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have a firmer flesh much like that of a cantaloupe or avocado, and in some cultivars the flesh can contain fibrous material. Mangoes are very juicy; the sweet taste and high water content make them refreshing to eat, though somewhat messy.

The mango is in the same family as poison ivy and contains urushiol, though much less than poison ivy. Some people get dermatitis from touching mango peel or sap. Persons showing an allergic reaction after handling a mango can usually enjoy the fruit if someone else first removes the skin. The leaves are toxic to cattle.

It is reputed that mangos soothe the intestines, which makes them easy to digest. In India, where mangoes are the national fruit, they are thought to help stop bleeding, to strengthen the heart, and to benefit the brain.

The mango also features as a common motif in Indian textiles, known as the paisley design.

Production and consumption

A mango cut using the "hedgehog" method

Generally, once ripe, mangoes are quite juicy and can be very messy to eat, if one does not know how to eat them. However, those exported to temperate regions are, like most tropical fruit, picked under-ripe. Although they are ethylene producers and ripen in transit, they do not have the same juiciness or flavour as the fresh fruit. A ripe mango will have an orange-yellow or reddish skin. To allow a mango to continue to ripen after purchase, it should be stored in a cool, dark place, but not in a refrigerator as this will slow the ripening process.

The small-fruited cultivars, usually somewhat yellow in colour, can be rolled on a flat surface in the same way a lemon is rolled before extracting the juice. It is ready for eating when the big stone can be rotated without breaking the skin. With the teeth, one can rip off a piece of skin at the top of the mango and place the mouth over the hole. The fruit can then be squeezed from the bottom up, as if squeezing toothpaste from the bottom of the tube.

With any of the large-fruited cultivars of mango, the operation is less hazardous: place the fruit lengthwise on a table and feel for the rather flat stone (containing the seed), which should lie horizontally inside the skin about midway through the fruit. Slice the mango so that the knife just passes over the flat surface of the stone. Then turn it over and cut across the other flat surface.


A woman selling mangoes in Venezuela
Native green mangoes from the Philippines

With each big slice that has been removed, cut hatch marks through the flesh just down to the skin. Then, hold the slice flesh-side-up, press the thumb on the skin side underneath as if turning the piece inside out. Many bite-sized pieces of flesh will pop up and can be cut out to put into a fruit salad or other preparation. This technique is sometimes called the hedgehog method because of the appearance of the prepared fruit. An alternative to the hedgehog method is to use a spoon to scoop out pieces of the fruit from the exposed "cheeks".

Specialized mango splitters that make this job much easier became available in kitchen stores in 2005. They consist of an oblong-shaped central cutter and two outwardly extending cutters mounted in a frame with convenient handles.

A simple way to eat a large mango 'as is' involves using a knife. This involves removing part of the skin and then slicing out bite-sized pieces with the knife. More skin can be removed to expose more flesh. One should expect to get juicy hands when eating the last part, when there is no skin to hold with the hand.

Another way to eat a mango is to simply use a sharp knife to peel the skin completely, then make horizontal and vertical cuts on each side through to the flat stone. Then slice the flesh off from each side of the stone. After this slice the remaining flesh left on the side of the stone. This method works best on mangoes that are ripe and which have firm flesh. Another simpler way to enjoy mangos is to buy them frozen or dried as they are becoming more common in this form in local markets.

Mangoes

Ripe mangoes are extremely popular throughout Latin America. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and/or salt. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangoes on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In Indonesia, green mango is sold by street vendors with sugar and salt and/or chili. Green mango may be used in the sour salad called rujak in Indonesia, and rojak in Malaysia and Singapore. In Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras, small, green mangoes are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavour like a Granny Smith apple. Vendors sell slices of peeled green mango on the streets of these countries, often served with salt. In Hawai'i it is common to pickle green mango slices.

Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually sharpened with hot chilis or limes. In India, ripe mango is often cut into thin layers, dessicated, folded, and then cut and sold as bars that are very tasty and chewy. These bars, known as amavat in Hindi, are similar to dried Guava fruit bars available in Colombia. Many people like to eat unripe mangoes with salt (which are extremely sour; much more than lemon, and often so sour that it makes your eyelids quiver), and in regions where food is hotter, with salt and chili.

As of 2005 in India, Mango was grown in an area of 1.23 million ha with an annual production of 10.99 million tonnes, which accounted for 57.18 per cent of the total world production. The state of Uttar Pradesh dominates the mango production in the North, and it is considered the most important fruit in central and eastern part of the state, from Lucknow to Varanasi, which produce some of the finest varieties. In southern India, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka states are major producers of mangoes and specialises in making a variety of mango pickles. These pickles are very spicy. It is almost an essential food in Andhra families, where mango pickle production is a household activity in summer.

In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp.

Mango is also used to make juices, both in ripe and unripe form. Pieces of fruit can be mashed and used in ice cream; they can be substituted for peaches in a peach (now mango) pie; or put in a blender with milk, a little sugar, and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage. A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar, but uses a mixture of yoghurt and milk as the base, and is sometimes flavoured with salt or cardamom. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavoured with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert.

Dried unripe mango used as a spice in south and southeast Asia is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor). Am is a Hindi word for Mango and amchoor is nothing but powder or extract of Mango.

Note: The Sweet Bell Pepper (capsicum) is also sometimes known as mango in parts of the midwestern United States Merriam-Webster Dictionary Definition. With the advent of fresh fruit importers exposing individuals to the tropical fruit, the colloquial use of this alternative name for the Sweet Bell Pepper is becoming archaic, although many midwestern menus will still offer stuffed mangoes as an entree.

Cultivars

Many hundred named mango cultivars exist. In mango orchards, several cultivars are always grown intermixed to improve cross-pollination. In Maharashtra, the commonest cultivar is 'Alphonso' (locally called 'Aphoos'), known as the King of Mangoes due to the popular opinion among many that they are the best cultivar available. The best 'Alphonso' mangos are reputed to come from the town of Ratnagiri and Devgad in Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, dasheri from Lucknow is famous for its aroma, and is so tasty that even the skin can be eaten. Langada from Varanasi in eastern UP is another variety which is extremely sought after for its fine flavor and aroma. Banganapalli (also called Banesha or Began Phali) of Andhra Pradesh is one of the most sought after cultivar. A fully ripe Banganapalli has the classic mango shape, a golden yellow color and a most delicate aroma that reminds one of bright sunshine. About 80% of mangos in UK supermarkets are of the single cultivar 'Tommy Atkins', which dominates the world export trade. It travels well and has a good shelf-life, but does not have the same flavour as some less common cultivars obtained from Asian shops. 'Tommy Atkins' is predominant in the USA as well, although other cultivars, such as the peculiarly S-shaped 'Madame Francis', imported from Haiti, are also widely available.

A list of additional leading cultivars can be found at the cultivar list link in the external links below.

External links

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