A deep dive into everything mango

Several days ago I posted the photo below on social media, saying that while medieval European peasants may have had more free time than modern people, they didn’t have access to fresh mangoes in the dead of winter so I’ll call it equal. Growing up in the middle of North America (very near the geological center, in fact), I suffered much as those medieval peasants because I didn’t encounter a fresh mango until I moved away from home. Once I did, however, they quickly became one of my favorite fruits. The Culinary Institute of America has an entire mango archive on its pro site, with tidbits about mango history, how to tell when one is ripe, and techniques for cutting the fruit.

One video provides information about mangoes, such as the fact that the paisley pattern developed in India was based on the shape of a mango, mango trees are related to cashew trees, and there over a thousand varieties of the fruit, although usually only a few make it to the US. There is also a step-by-step photo tutorial on how to cut a mango, while a visual guide provides instruction on the various stages of ripeness. Of course there are also recipes available there, along with a downloadable booklet of recipes.

The EYB Library is, of course, another great resource for mango recipes. It contains almost 4,000 online recipes that use mango, including these Member favorites:

• Soba noodles with aubergine and mango from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
• Red shrimp and mango curry from Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson
• Paneer + beet salad with mango-lime dressing from The Flavor Equation by Nik Sharma
• Mango slaw with cashews and mint from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman
• Mango sago from The Woks of Life
• Mango lassi popsicles from Eats Well with Others by Joanne Bruno