Mango Madness

July 23, 2015 — chutney, cuisine, fruit, mango, tropical

mango chutney

I grew up in Pennsylvania in the 1950’s. I ate iceberg lettuce from Kroger’s and frozen produce from my grandparents’ farm in Arkansas. I liked fruits and vegetables, but had only been exposed to a small range because in those times produce was not shipped around the world and stored. It was eaten close to the place where it was grown. When I was 13 my family moved to eastern Venezuela, where my yard contained around 30 super large mango trees. There were also tamarinds, limes, coconuts, a breadfruit, oranges, and papayas right outside the back door. There were so many mangos falling to the ground when they were ripe that a man came daily to our yard to fill a big trailer with ripe mangoes to feed to his pigs. Had he not gathered up the thick layer of ripe mangoes every day we might have drowned in compost. We did eat them and give them to everyone who wanted them, but we still had a huge excess.

I loved my new yard and the orchids my mom grew in the courtyard of our house. It was a big change from suburban Pittsburgh, and I approved. I learned to make jalea de mango with green mango, which was when I discovered my extreme skin allergy to green mangoes. If I handle them I break out I hives where they have touched my skin.  Oddly enough, ripe ones don’t bother my skin at all, and I can consume both the green and ripe fruits once they are cooked without any problems.  Another wonderful way to eat green mangoes is in a pie.  You treat it just like an apple pie, and the flavor is slightly similar.  The fruit is green and crisp when it is used it for pie.

orchids

This week I had a plethora of ripening mangoes which made me investigate different ways to preserve them.  Yesterday I made chutney which turned out very well.  I used a chile from our garden,one small lime, raisins, mustard seed, cinnamon stick, cloves, black pepper, lots of ginger, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar to season the ripe mangoes and create a savory and spicy condiment.  This is a quick easy way to create a custom flavor burst with your own twist.  I followed a recipe but cut the sugar in half to get the taste I was seeking.  It is delicious with goat cheese.  I think will make more chutney, with ingredients like tomato and onion, because they are simple and add a lot of bang for the buck to a meal.  When my partner tasted the mango chutney he said “Get back, fancy restaurants! This is fantastic.”  His enthusiasm has encouraged me to groove on down the chutney trail with new ingredients.

I still have a few ripe mangoes today, as well as some strawberries that need to be eaten.  I am going to prepare a fruit compote with the two fruits plus a little orange juice, lime zest,  and a touch of agave nectar. This creation will need to be consumed in the next day, but the chutney will keep for a month or so in the refrigerator, should it survive for that long.  Do you have a favorite way to eat mangoes, gentle reader?