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Around here, mango is sort of a dirty word. There are a few foods that don't grow near me that I allow myself (confession: avocados and bananas), but I weaned myself, painfully, off mangoes a few years ago. Boo hoo. And then, a miracle happened. A genius named Howard Marguleas figured out how to grow organic mangoes in the Southern California desert.
Cultivated in conjunction with purity.organic, these Keitt mangoes are the only domestically grown commercially available organic mango in the United States. They're not cheap: about $4 each (available nationally at Whole Foods in addition to other local markets), but they are worth a try, and I think they are a fruit worth supporting, especially if you find yourself in Southern California.
We're lucky to be in the Keitt Mango's short season (September and October) right now. This is its sweet spot.
Here are some mango recipes we've featured on the site in the past, including a few ice creams from our Best Lick Ice Cream Contest (the Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt was one of the runners up,) a few cocktails and some mango salsas.
• Mango Chili Ice Cream
• DIY Mango Lassi
• Mango Kiwi Salsa
• Mango Colada
• Mango Salsa
• Mango Lassi Frozen Yogurt
• Marinated Mango
• Mango Ginger Frozen Yogurt
• Summer Cocktail: The Fresh Mango Sweet Escape
The texture and flavor of these mangos is wonderful, so my advice, especially at $4 a pop, is not to fuss with them too much. I ate the first half of mine straight, and the second half over some delicious, and very local, Hawthorne Valley whole milk yogurt.
Wherever you live, use this month to enjoy cooking and eating what grows nearby. I'll continue to tell you what ingredients, books, and recipes are inspiring me, and I hope you'll tell me what's inspiring you.
Cheers,
Sara Kate
Last Week's Posted Email: From The Email: Favorite Local and Seasonal Cooking Books
Guess I'm really lucky - I live on a place where the trees used to embellish the city were mangoes, so now we have free mangoes on the street. The only problem with that is when they fall on someone or on top of a car (the trees here go higher than 5 meters).
I'm not a big fan of the mango fruit, but i really like it on juices.
view LiaMatos's profile
in texas sometimes we can get mangoes 2 for a $1 (not organic) and my mum and I like to stock up!! I'm mexican and love to put chile on fruit but I love to mix mango,pineapple,watermelon, and cocunut slices -
delicious. sweet and spicy at the same time. I found a picture online and this is how most vendors sell it in my town and I've seen some here in nyc
http://gomexico.about.com/od/fooddrink/ig/Mexico-s-Tropical-Fruit/Mangoes.htm
I brought a huge bottle of chile to put on my fruits while I'm away at college! :)
view witchbaby's profile
I've had a Keitt mango before!! But I didn't have it while I was in the US, and at the time I thought it was a breed local to the area I was visiting. It was yummy tho!
view jadoreme's profile