As a kid I don’t think I liked mangoes all that much. They
are slimy and unfamiliar and kind of hard to eat (I will qualify this last
point later). Eventually I came
to realize how delicious they are, although as a rare treat, a produce
aisle impulse buy, not as something that made it on to my shopping list very
often. I probably eat more mangoes per day in Senegal than I eat in an average
year in America. Which leads me to wonder…
If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, what do three(+) mangoes a
day get you? Something good I bet.
1.
Duh. Fresh fruit. Vitamin C.
2.
Digestive antidote to loads and loads of white
rice
3.
An incentive to floss regularly
4.
Pure simple joy
Mangoes are a surprising fruit… so many possible favors! The other day
I ate one that was so soft it seemed like it should have been bad, too bruised
and battered from its fall off the tree to be worth much. I cut into it anyway.
It was as good if not better than any mango I have ever eaten. So fragrant and
golden and sweet. Like eating late afternoon sunshine. The accumulation of all
the day’s warmth and goodness, melting in my mouth. What a wonderful food!
Most mangoes you buy in America are roughly the same size. Here I’ve eaten ones the size of
kiwis and some the size of cantaloupes. The first type to ripen are the small yellow ones that tend to be softer and sweeter. My host
family will demolish a bucket of these for breakfast every morning. Then there
are the much larger ones that come in various shades of green to yellow to
orange (and sometimes red and purple!) and resemble what you’d usually buy in
America. Most people seem to consider these the superior variety, although I
think all mangoes have their virtues. A third variety is by far my personal
favorite though. Outwardly they look like the other large grafted variety, but
on the inside they are heaven in fruit form (see previous paragraph). Both the
large grafted varieties in their unripe state lend themselves well to a tasty
snack that Mandinkas appropriately call “pounded mangoes”. The fruit is cut up
and pounded with salt, pepper and sometimes red onion and other spices and its
DELICIOUS... and also a little dangerous.
As I wander around village in the mornings I tend to collect mangoes.
People are always offering some of their golden bounty to me and I’m happy to
take what’s offered, although I admit I often end up with more than I can eat
by myself. They see how much I love them and ask, “Do you have these where you
come from?” (This is a popular question and since I arrived in village has been
applied to everything from black people to the moon). I tell them we buy them
from Mexico and this means they are expensive and I don’t eat them often. And
besides, they aren’t as tasty because they don’t ripen on the tree! People love
to hear that some things are just better in Africa.
I've come to believe that there’s just no way to fully appreciate the range of
possible flavors offered by a mango unless you eat it fresh off the tree. For the
most part, I’ve gotten pretty good at selecting them, but there is still so
much variety, so many factors that keep me from ever knowing exactly what I’m
about to cut into. I was so mango-ignorant for so many years! For example: did
you know that you can eat the skin? Some people are actually quite allergic and
it makes their lips swell up, but if you don’t have that problem or a knife you
actually can just bite right into a
mango. I’ve added this to my repertoire of mango-eating techniques. I have at
least five now and will chose the best one based on the type of mango, size,
ripeness, availability of a knife, and how messy I am willing to get. THERE IS
NO WAY TO EAT A MANGO WITHOUT GETTING AT LEAST A LITTLE MESSY unless the mango
is less than fully ripe and you are peeling it over a bucket of water, washing
as you go and who has time for that?! I prefer to act like the greedy primate
that I am and tear into my mangoes with savage ferocity and wild appetite. It’s
really the only way.
 |
| Clearly the work of a mango fairy. |
