Article from Edible South Florida
Uncommon Mangos
July 06, 2017
Did you grow up in Florida? You may have a soft spot for the
classic Haden, deep yellow inside, rich and aromatic; ‘Glenn’, a mild
early-season choice; ‘Irwin’, a productive, deep-red variety; and
‘Kent’, an aromatic, sweet mango, yellow with an appealing red blush.
If you lived in the islands – specifically Jamaica – you may hold
‘Julie’ dear to your heart for its tart sweetness and pineapple flavor,
or ‘Graham’, a small but prolific producer. In Southeast Asia, ‘Nam Doc
Mai’ – pale, aromatic, with silky flesh – is a favorite, while Indian
varieties like ‘Alphonse’ and ‘Mallika’ are spicy, complex and deep
orange, and to many are the finest in the world – fighting words, of
course.
Among the hundreds of varieties of mangos – there are
around 400 alone at the USDA facility at Chapman Field – are
specialized cultivars that summon up heavy notes of coconut, citrus,
vanilla, even tart apple. We paid a visit to mango expert Dr. Richard
Campbell’s Redland backyard to taste uncommon mangos he’s growing.
While he sliced open fruits to sample, he talked about their attributes.
Campbell's collection includes:
‘Coconut Cream’ – This deep, rich, sweet mango is coconutty, silky-smooth.
‘Lemon
Zest’ – A sister of ‘Orange Sherbet’, this cultivar has a good tart
kick with hints of coconut and vanilla. “Arguably the best flavor among
the new generation of mangos,” says Campbell.
‘Diamond’ – A deep
rich Indian mango flavor in a Southeast Asian shell, with melon,
sugarcane and Indian spice. “This is a winner. You do not want to miss
the smooth, silky flavor and surprising citrus overtones.”
‘CeciLove’
– Named for his wife, Cecelia, this is (of course), his personal
favorite mango. “It has citrus and berry tones with a tart kick.”
To
test the sweetness of his mangos, Campbell pulled out a Brix meter – a
refractometer – that measures the amount of light refracted in a liquid
and delivers a number. For fruits, a higher Brix number means more
sweetness. He squeezed a few drops of juice to get the Brix number.
Campbell
and his sons have set up a Facebook page, Mango Men Homestead, to sell
these limited-edition mangos and others, including:
'Ruby' – A seedling of ‘Julie’, this is a small, good-quality fruit with a brilliant color
'Kryptonite' – One of their celestial series
'Fairchild' – From Panama, rich, aromatic and spicy
'Angie' – Deeply sweet with tangerine-orange flesh and notes of apricot
'Pina Colada' – Small but packed with flavor and sassy personality
'Marble' – A seedling of 'Haden' with a sweeter and firmer flesh
'Diamond' has tones of melon and sugar cane, dripping in Indian spice
'Sunrise' – Combination of citrus, berries and melon with a kick of lime
'Sunburst' – Sister of 'Sunrise' with all the flavor and sophistication of Southeast Asia
'Saigon' – Straight out of Vietnam with a size and beauty to be cherished.
'Cogshall' – Selected on Pine Island in the 1940s, these have soft, juicy flesh and a spicy, aromatic flavor
You
also may find a few of these mangos and other special varieties from
small growers in South Florida, backyard growers or local fruit stands
like Robert is Here, but not in supermarkets. While most of the world’s
commercial varieties were developed here in South Florida, they are
grown elsewhere for export, in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. These
uncommon mangos are strictly local – just for us to enjoy.
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