Before moving to Africa we were apple people.
We stocked up at a good price, during the peak of apple season. We made southern apple crisp, canned applesauce and even made our own apple cider.

 

Now that we live in a sub-tropical climate, apples are not native…but mangoes are.
I mentioned in our last post that mangoes are in season now, and since our area grows them in an abundance, you can get a great price from local roadside vendors. So this year, instead of putting away apples for the winter, we are putting away mangoes for the dry season.

 

If you’ve never bought fresh mangoes before give them a try! They are so much better fresh, than in a pre-cut fruit tray, or from the freezer section. If you had a bad experience with a stringy mango, you will want to avoid the “Tommy Atkins” variety and try “Kent” instead if you can find it. Here are some tips that we have learned along the way:

1. Buy mangoes that are firm and let them ripen on your counter. Turn them daily and don’t rely on the color to tell you that they are ripe. When you push with your thumb on the outside and it gives a little, you will know that it’s ripe.
2. When cutting a mango there are a couple different ways, so if you have no clue how to go about it, just look for a tutorial online. I personally prefer the “hedgehog” method, but Justin prefers peeling the skin with a vegetable peeler then cutting the flesh away from the center seed.
3. Mangoes are similar to peaches in that the flavor and texture changes a lot when they are cooked. Keep this in mind when you are trying new mango recipes.
4. If you cut a mango before it is fully ripe, don’t throw it out…dice or slice it, then put it in a pot on the stove with some sugar and water to soften it up. This is great for cobblers and muffins because it won’t go to mush when baked.

Here’s a Mango Cobbler recipe that we found tasty:

If you have a favorite mango recipe, we’d love to try it, so please leave a comment below.

–  Rachel