When it comes to injecting colour into the kitchen mangoes are hard to beat. Here’s everything you need to know about these floral fruits:
Sweet and spice
Whenever you see mango in a recipe, chances are that spice will be there by its side: in a chilli-flecked salsa for crab cakes, sliced fresh and fanned over coconut rice that’s heady with vanilla, or blitzed with condensed milk for creamy ices that pop with cardamom. Mango and spice are meant to be together, and it’s been this way right from the start…
Tropic wonder
Mango is a distant relative of sumac and is in the same family as pink peppercorns, which adds weight to the vague whiff of spice that comes from its flesh. Back in the 14th century, Ibn Battuta (that Ibn Battuta) settled down for a meal with some locals of Mogadishu, Somalia, a country whose cuisine uses an eclectic blend of spices.
His hosts went to town on the spread: stewed chicken, meat, fish and vegetables, mounds of rice rich with ghee. And on the side, balancing the fire, mango with ginger, pickled lemons and chilli. Seven centuries have passed, but this idea has lost none of its appeal.
In a pickle
In his book On Food and Cooking, food scientist Harold McGee notes how the 18th-century English were fans of pickled mango. And in the 1700s, lack of refrigeration meant that mango pickling was so common the word mango came to be a verb meaning ‘to pickle’. Today, pickled mango is just as popular (hello, Asian beef with pickled mango and mint) but mainly because the sweet-sour combo is so irresistible.
Mangoes aren’t just a great source of vitamins. They are full of fibre and are an excellent fruit to keep you full. One way to start your morning in fine form is with a thick and satisfyingly healthy mango smoothie. For our version, we blend mango with coconut water and natural yogurt, adding lime zest and mint for an extra kick.
Mangoes also work well as part of a light lunch. Combine slices with leftover roast chicken, spring onions, chilli and hazelnuts. Finish with lime juice and a scattering of herbs.
You can find delicious Egyptian Keitt and Spanish Osteen mangoes in store now.