Mangos

Mangifera indica L

Mango tree

Starting in April and May, all along the Pacific  Mexico, interspersed with coconut palms and banana trees, are mango orchards laden with green and ripening fruit.

Native to Asia, particularly to the Philippines and India, the tropical mango was introduced to the West Indies in the 18th C. and moved into Mexico early in the 19th C.

Mangifera indica L. is a member of the Anacardiaceae family. The broadly-canopied tree grows to between 30 and 100 ft in height; some trees have been known to live up to 300 yrs old, still producing fruit.

Mangos reach maturity 4-5 months after blooming. When ripe, the mango will snap easily from its stem. A 10 to 20 year old tree will typically yield some 200 or 300 mango fruits per tree, annually. Older trees bear greater amounts of fruit, and yields of up to 5,000 fruits per tree have been reported in India.

When using mangos, the fruit should be rinsed to remove residues of the sap. Fleshy mangos can be cut from the sides single,  large, flat seeds, and the extra flesh eaten off the seed itself — but be careful! Mango juice will stain your clothes. Mangos are a good fruit to eat outside, where you can drip freely, or over a large container such as a sink or basin.

Mango-laden branch

In Mexico, the mango is often eaten by piercing the stem-end of the seed with a long stick or fork. The fruit is peeled and sliced diagonally into leaves and eaten off the stick – and sprinkled with a bit of lime juice and powdered red chile pepper!.

The sweet, tangy flesh of the mango has a special taste reminiscent of peaches combined with… well, something indescribable. It is excellent in fruit salads, on cereals and desserts. The ripe fruit may be preserved in syrup, or made into jam, marmalade or juice. Mangos may also be frozen, either whole or peeled, sliced and packed in sugar, then quick-frozen. Green mangos are often spiced and made into chutney or relish. Even the seed of the mango, soaked and then dried, can be ground into a flour and mixed with wheat or rice flour for bread products.

Medicinal Uses:

• Dried flowers – Contain 15% tannin. Use as astringent for diarrhea, dysentery and urethritis.
• Bark: In India, used as astringent and for rheumatism and diphtheria.
• Gum resin: Apply to cracked feet and use for scabies.
• Kernels: (unsoaked, to retain tannin) used as vermifuges and as astringents in diarrhea, hemorrhages and bleeding hemorrhoids.
• Leaves: As a decoction for diarrhea, fever, chest complaints, diabetes, hypertension.

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Originally posted 2009-10-01 13:16:10.