It started in mid-January. Yellow. Soft. Not the best ever, but a tease of what was to come: Mango Season. In March, baskets with the round, solid-soft, green-yellow-red fruit debuted in the Bethania market, and the love affair began. Sneaking out at night to cut into another, sneaking money out of the piggy bank to splurge another 25 cents for just another taste, multiple bags of mangos when (not) cooking for a crowd, hiding some slices in the freezer for accessibility in longevity. Some might call it unhealthy if the health benefits weren't so clear. It pretty much turns you into a walking army tank against cancer with a turret and rocket launchers and everything. Vitamin A, B, C (pretty much the whole alphabet there), Copper, Potassium, Probiotic Fiber...what's not to love? I've modified the old adage, folks. A MANGO a day keeps the doctor away. Shoot, the doctor is literally on vacation right now cause it's Holy Week so we ain't about to have any problems.
I'm going all out this year guys. You Michiganders know how in October everyone and their illegitimate feline are flocking to apple orchards and taking social-media-friendly photos, taking home apples by the bushel and eating their apple pie, sauce, crisp, pork, butter, muffins, etc., etc., etc.. Well why should it be any different with mango season?
I've proudly gone 19 disiciplined days eating at least one mango per day. I LOVE IT! Every day is excellent. Fresh cut mango. Mango-strawberry-banana-coconut smoothie. Pork with mango chutney. Tostadas with mango salsa. Mango slurpee-like things. Mango with chile. Mango with lime.
If any of you are going to ask me a classic question like, "What's something you learned or appreciated about Guatemala?" I'm going to answer you this: mangos. Cause it makes every day a great day.
Ask me another question.
I went to the Terminal (the "warehouse" of all of Guatemala City's markets) to see how many types of mangos I could find. Hundred of thousands of mangos upon mangos upon mangos (turn the corner and theres hundreds of thousands of scallions, or bananas, or whatever other produce you desire at painfully cheap prices.) There's 8 species currently in season, anyway. Maybe 10-12 total. It was only appropriate to purchase one of each species of mango to properly discern which flavors deserved my unending loyalty. It was also appropriate to do this all in one sitting, to avoid lurking variables. You can see all 8 in one of the pictures.
1) Tommy Mangos: The classic ones ya'll get in the states and buy for 2 bucks a piece are exported for a reason: they're the best. They last. They have a great yield, an excellent texture, and a faithful taste. I would estimate we have purchased 50 or more in the last 3 weeks.
2) Pico de Loro Mangos (literally "Parrot Beak Mangos"): 1) great name 2) they're long and curvy and green, which means they look really neat and unique. 3) the inner fruit is still mango colored, with great taste and texture. I had never tried them before and I will keep trying them.
3) Mango de Leche: These boys are smooth like butter, and have a yellower hue about them. A melt in your mouth texture if you hit 'em at the right time. The flavor isn't quite as strong as others, but she's smooth guys, so stick your mouth in one.
4) Mango Verde (grande): Kindof a mix between pico de loro and tommy mangos. The size and shape of tommy's but the color of pico de loro. The flavor is similar but not quite at the same level. Still deserving of respect and purchase.
5) "Pashte" Mangos: Native and unique to Guatemala, they're significantly more expensive because they're super sweet and rich, but I don't like them as much as Guatemalans do. They're fine, but they don't yield as much fruit and they texture isn't as excellent as others. So I'd rather spend less money on a better mango.
6) Mango Verde (pequeño): These guys are about the length of my thumb, then just mango-shaped. They are hard...like a hard pear in texture, and you often eat them with lime and salt. A little more work than they're worth to do all the peeling and whatnot but really unique taste and texture.
7) Mango de Manzana (apple mangos): Pretty much a worse version of Mango de Leche. Instead of silky texture it gets stringy real easy and even has a little bit of a squashy taste...maybe mine was just overripe.
8) Mango Cochito (literally "little piggie mango"): They're small, with a yellow/orange/red color. They're softer, with not great texture, but they're cheap and nice little snacks for kids. I'm not into them guys. I mean, obvi I still eat them, but my mango standards are high.
So celebrate with me if you will. Cause in May, the rain comes and the mangos get wormy and then everyone's upset, except the farmers who aren't farming mangos and can grow their crops. But I'd rather have mangos than corn or beans any day. All of the days. Cheers, ya'll. I've gotta go floss.
-AJ
p.s. I did not include any spiritual/Biblical metaphors here, but you are welcome to add your own in the "comments" section of this post.
I'm going all out this year guys. You Michiganders know how in October everyone and their illegitimate feline are flocking to apple orchards and taking social-media-friendly photos, taking home apples by the bushel and eating their apple pie, sauce, crisp, pork, butter, muffins, etc., etc., etc.. Well why should it be any different with mango season?
I've proudly gone 19 disiciplined days eating at least one mango per day. I LOVE IT! Every day is excellent. Fresh cut mango. Mango-strawberry-banana-coconut smoothie. Pork with mango chutney. Tostadas with mango salsa. Mango slurpee-like things. Mango with chile. Mango with lime.
If any of you are going to ask me a classic question like, "What's something you learned or appreciated about Guatemala?" I'm going to answer you this: mangos. Cause it makes every day a great day.
Ask me another question.
I went to the Terminal (the "warehouse" of all of Guatemala City's markets) to see how many types of mangos I could find. Hundred of thousands of mangos upon mangos upon mangos (turn the corner and theres hundreds of thousands of scallions, or bananas, or whatever other produce you desire at painfully cheap prices.) There's 8 species currently in season, anyway. Maybe 10-12 total. It was only appropriate to purchase one of each species of mango to properly discern which flavors deserved my unending loyalty. It was also appropriate to do this all in one sitting, to avoid lurking variables. You can see all 8 in one of the pictures.
1) Tommy Mangos: The classic ones ya'll get in the states and buy for 2 bucks a piece are exported for a reason: they're the best. They last. They have a great yield, an excellent texture, and a faithful taste. I would estimate we have purchased 50 or more in the last 3 weeks.
2) Pico de Loro Mangos (literally "Parrot Beak Mangos"): 1) great name 2) they're long and curvy and green, which means they look really neat and unique. 3) the inner fruit is still mango colored, with great taste and texture. I had never tried them before and I will keep trying them.
3) Mango de Leche: These boys are smooth like butter, and have a yellower hue about them. A melt in your mouth texture if you hit 'em at the right time. The flavor isn't quite as strong as others, but she's smooth guys, so stick your mouth in one.
4) Mango Verde (grande): Kindof a mix between pico de loro and tommy mangos. The size and shape of tommy's but the color of pico de loro. The flavor is similar but not quite at the same level. Still deserving of respect and purchase.
5) "Pashte" Mangos: Native and unique to Guatemala, they're significantly more expensive because they're super sweet and rich, but I don't like them as much as Guatemalans do. They're fine, but they don't yield as much fruit and they texture isn't as excellent as others. So I'd rather spend less money on a better mango.
6) Mango Verde (pequeño): These guys are about the length of my thumb, then just mango-shaped. They are hard...like a hard pear in texture, and you often eat them with lime and salt. A little more work than they're worth to do all the peeling and whatnot but really unique taste and texture.
7) Mango de Manzana (apple mangos): Pretty much a worse version of Mango de Leche. Instead of silky texture it gets stringy real easy and even has a little bit of a squashy taste...maybe mine was just overripe.
8) Mango Cochito (literally "little piggie mango"): They're small, with a yellow/orange/red color. They're softer, with not great texture, but they're cheap and nice little snacks for kids. I'm not into them guys. I mean, obvi I still eat them, but my mango standards are high.
So celebrate with me if you will. Cause in May, the rain comes and the mangos get wormy and then everyone's upset, except the farmers who aren't farming mangos and can grow their crops. But I'd rather have mangos than corn or beans any day. All of the days. Cheers, ya'll. I've gotta go floss.
-AJ
p.s. I did not include any spiritual/Biblical metaphors here, but you are welcome to add your own in the "comments" section of this post.