Mangos (via
Democratic Underground), and their geopolitical strategerizing role. Look for the fruit stickers (or perhaps the
tattoos) that signify global cooperation and the collapse of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mangos. Mangos.
Among the many deals and intitiatives that will come in the wake of President Bush's visit to India is the US decision to import Indian mangoes.
These were barred from the US market because the US found India's mango pest control measures inadequate.
China had also agreed to lift the ban on Indian mangoes after Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit three years ago. Mangoes do seem to have diplomatic significance.
President Bush said, "By the way, Mr. Prime Minister the US is looking to eating Indian managoes."
10 comments:
Six rupees per kilo!! Six rupees!! I still remember them, they were so good. But they were yellow. And smaller. What's that doohickey you got in the photo?
OK, OK, that's a Mexican mango. The Wege thinks it's Peruvian. Maybe. I couldn't find a photo of Indian mangos. I have some Thai ones, which are close. Will that do?
All I know is Philippine mangos look right but don't taste it, so I would be inclined to say no. Sorry. One has to draw the line somewhere.
Philippine mangos? Never had one. Thai, yes, and they're good. This calls for another mango post.
Mmmm. Here says India grows 100 varieties of mango. I guess at least this supports my contention about mangos that visually subtle differences nevertheless may belie qualitative differences in delectability.
That source also remarks that the mango is India's "national fruit."
If the mango's "national," it may be indigenous, such that maybe only a few of those varieties are domesticated--as opposed to wild species or subspecies--and even then many might be out of fashion for large-scale agriculture, like American "heirloom" tomatoes (fruit!) before their recent renaissance. Just trying to reconcile my never noticing variety among the mangos I saw in India.
I've seen several sources say that mangos originally come from India. I'm not sure about this for a couple of reasons: the hundreds of global varieties are so different; different varieties extend throughout the world; some mango trees in South America are extremely old and already quite different varieties than Indian ones.
In American grocery stores we tend to get two kinds: the rounder, meatier, redder Mexican or Peruvian mango (sometimes from Florida), and/or the more elongated, yellowish, and pointed kind of mango common in SE Asia. They must have been chosen specifically for the American market. I've had many different kinds in other parts of the world, but these are consistently the only two I find here.
Not long ago I tried - damn, what was it called? - something like a "mango peach" bought at Whole Foods. It tasted like generic sweet fruit, the size of a small peach with a skin like a mango. I'd never heard of it before.
I've also heard Indians refer to mangos as the "king of fruits." In SE Asia, they call the durian the "king of fruits" (Mangosteen is the "queen").
Probably like our "World Series."
Murky thoughts are you sure that the mango you tasted actually came from the Philippines? A "Philippine" variety raised in Mexico or Florida is not the same as one raised in its country of origin. There are lots of varieties of mangoes in the Phil but the one you should look for are the "Philippine Super Mangoes". Don't settle for the dried mangoes packaged in vacuum sealed plastic bags. Soil conditions, amount of rainfall, sunshine etc. affect the quality of the fruit. The soil in the Philippines is of volcanic origin that nourishes the tree with lots of minerals and nutrients. A tree raised under these conditions usually produces superior fruits coz of the quality of the enzymes
as opposed to one that was induced to grow thru fertilizers. The produce may ultimately look the same but the texture, let alone its taste would somehow vary. The Philippine Super Mangoes are not in the Guiness Book of World Records for nothing.
http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Manila/blog-146401.html
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