India's Alphonso mangoes are virtually impossible to find in America (2018)(vice.com)
vice.com
India's Alphonso mangoes are virtually impossible to find in America (2018)
https://www.vice.com/en/article/gyw4zb/alphonso-best-mangoes-india-us
71 comments
This. It’s like people in the west have never eaten real mangoes and only know of it via artificial flavour.
I’ll also mention Raspuri which is my favourite kind. As the name suggests it’s very juicy
I’ll also mention Raspuri which is my favourite kind. As the name suggests it’s very juicy
Most people in the west haven’t eaten real mangoes. The US and Europe are just too far away to get access to proper tropical fruit because it spoils so fast. We get the varieties that travel well which are almost universally the worst tasting (fewer sugars for bacteria to eat and more fiber and cellulose filler). So ironically, yeah, synthetic flavors are sometimes the only place we get certain flavors - like the artificial banana flavor that’s based on the Gros Michel that preceded the cavendish.
Here in the US, due to industrialization, I struggle to find good fruit and vegetables in general, let alone tropical. They’re all picked too soon, travel too far, and have barely any flavor compared to home grown - and I’m in California! There’s a few specialized tropical fruit growers in Florida but it’s not even legal to ship much of that stuff here
Here in the US, due to industrialization, I struggle to find good fruit and vegetables in general, let alone tropical. They’re all picked too soon, travel too far, and have barely any flavor compared to home grown - and I’m in California! There’s a few specialized tropical fruit growers in Florida but it’s not even legal to ship much of that stuff here
Isn't this also down to different types of Mango being grown in Brazil than in India?
The small yellow Indian mangoes that are exported also taste very different from the exported big green-red Brazilian mangoes.
So the export might have to do with it, but I think it's the type of mango that makes the difference.
I find Indian mangoes much better personally, even if exported, although when traveling in India they were even better.
The small yellow Indian mangoes that are exported also taste very different from the exported big green-red Brazilian mangoes.
So the export might have to do with it, but I think it's the type of mango that makes the difference.
I find Indian mangoes much better personally, even if exported, although when traveling in India they were even better.
I was lucky to grow up in a tropical seaside city in Mexico. Mangoes and papayas were everywhere. Papayas never went to waste, but mangoes were almost a plague, old trees will drop kilos of ripened mangoes every day, and some people had several trees in their backyard.
Our house didn't have a tree, but you could take a bag and just walk around the neighborhood, because people put fresh mangoes on their fences for others to take for free before they spoiled. Naturally ripened mangoes are indeed on a different level, but they last so little before fermenting because they're very sweet.
Our house didn't have a tree, but you could take a bag and just walk around the neighborhood, because people put fresh mangoes on their fences for others to take for free before they spoiled. Naturally ripened mangoes are indeed on a different level, but they last so little before fermenting because they're very sweet.
Had a Rumani mango tree at home while growing up. Small, extremely juice mangos. Ate hundreds every season. Nothing else comes close.
Unrelated, but if you're going to go the deep end on Indian, and other Asian fruits, I recommend also trying:
- Rambutan (similar to lychees)
- Custard apple (haven't seen it, but I've heard it can be found)
- Vietnamese Durian (tastes like a milkshake, and I couldn't smell the stinky smell..)
- Guava (they're not very sweet but are very flavorful)
- Sapota (aka Chiku) - the best fruit milkshakes I've had were chiku shakes.
Finally, if these are hard to come by and you can't travel, make the most of your local fruits: there are some incredible apples, blackberries, red raspberries, blue berries in the US that are hard to find in other parts of the world.
- Rambutan (similar to lychees)
- Custard apple (haven't seen it, but I've heard it can be found)
- Vietnamese Durian (tastes like a milkshake, and I couldn't smell the stinky smell..)
- Guava (they're not very sweet but are very flavorful)
- Sapota (aka Chiku) - the best fruit milkshakes I've had were chiku shakes.
Finally, if these are hard to come by and you can't travel, make the most of your local fruits: there are some incredible apples, blackberries, red raspberries, blue berries in the US that are hard to find in other parts of the world.
These are all common, obvious fruits, several of which are not even from Asia originally. I feel someone speaking from "the deep end" would have more esoteric recommendations but also very strong preferences about what particular cultivars to seek out -- in each case, but especially for durian, where it's almost like each of its hundreds of named varieties can have its own cult following -- when and where to get them, how they should be harvested, how prime individual specimens should be selected, etc. Guava not very sweet? You just haven't had the right variety of guava fully in season. And so on.
Aside from Guava I knew none of the fruits the OP mentioned, just as a side-note. I think you may be overestimating how common and obvious these are for people not from Asia.
OMG, durian, it's like a entire cult following, golden phoenix, sultan (d24), black gold, mountain cat, red prawn, black pearl, king of kings...
Speaking of cult following, I once tried a durian that tasted rotten, so I warned my friends accordingly, one who promptly grabbed them and started smacking their lips, going "this is the good stuff". Found out it was the XO variant, which is supposed to taste like it's fermented. Who would've thunk.
Speaking of cult following, I once tried a durian that tasted rotten, so I warned my friends accordingly, one who promptly grabbed them and started smacking their lips, going "this is the good stuff". Found out it was the XO variant, which is supposed to taste like it's fermented. Who would've thunk.
Yes. For a simple example, guava with pink flesh inside is very different in taste from the white flesh ones.
I'll add, dragonfruit. The typical purple one has a very mild taste (exceedingly mild to the point of tastelessness), but the yellow ones are really sweet.
My absolute favorite was not on your list: mangosteen! Available in the US at some Asian groceries but so expensive that I usually can't stomach it.
Paw Paw would be the best local replacement for tropical flavor
FYI -
Sapotas are from Mexico (Yucatan)
Custard apples are from the West Indies
Guavas are from Mexico (and are often grown in backyards even here in California)
Sapotas are from Mexico (Yucatan)
Custard apples are from the West Indies
Guavas are from Mexico (and are often grown in backyards even here in California)
Well, they've all been growing in the East Indies for a long time and I've never been to the Yucatan or the West Indies. Maybe the varietals are different.
For a different take on mangoes:
Check out the Totapuri and Rajapuri varieties. Can be eaten ripe too, and are middling good that way. But what I came here to say is, we as kids used to eat them raw to semi-ripe, sliced into just a few large pieces, and with salt to taste, on lazy summer afternoons, while reading a book or comic. And for some reason you could eat a lot without getting a stomach upset. They had a tangy mildly sour and mildly sweet taste, that did not pall, even on eating large amounts. :)
Check out the Totapuri and Rajapuri varieties. Can be eaten ripe too, and are middling good that way. But what I came here to say is, we as kids used to eat them raw to semi-ripe, sliced into just a few large pieces, and with salt to taste, on lazy summer afternoons, while reading a book or comic. And for some reason you could eat a lot without getting a stomach upset. They had a tangy mildly sour and mildly sweet taste, that did not pall, even on eating large amounts. :)
Alphonso is one of the least flavorful varieties on mango.
The fame comes from the fact that it is one of the few which can stay edible for more than a few days of storage and transport, making it the only variety ever exported at scale.
Some better ones are Himsagar, Langra, Sindhri, Dasheri. Try to find these when you are traveling in India (and neighbors).
The fame comes from the fact that it is one of the few which can stay edible for more than a few days of storage and transport, making it the only variety ever exported at scale.
Some better ones are Himsagar, Langra, Sindhri, Dasheri. Try to find these when you are traveling in India (and neighbors).
> The fame comes from the fact that it is one of the few which can stay edible for more than a few days of storage and transport, making it the only variety ever exported at scale
Is that true even for refrigerated transport?
Is that true even for refrigerated transport?
I saw a box of Indian mangos at the local Indian grocery store (the name is "cash and carry" but I don't believe they're a chain). $80/box. The Mexican mangos were $20/box. The Indian ones definitely were air cargoed at that price.
Having lived in the States and only eaten mexican mangoes for years, returning to India and eating Alphonso and other Indian mangoes quickly showed me what I was missing.
Don’t know if that epiphany is worth a 4x price difference but it’s not nothing.
Don’t know if that epiphany is worth a 4x price difference but it’s not nothing.
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In Bay Area I paid $30 for box a month ago
Try Malgova (malgoa, malgoba) variety. It is a Southern India special variety.
Pulpy, meaty and sweet. Has a distinctive taste.
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan did a bit on Alphonso mangoes and Indians, I think it streams on Netflix.
Just my opinion that the Alphonso is overrated.
Pulpy, meaty and sweet. Has a distinctive taste.
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan did a bit on Alphonso mangoes and Indians, I think it streams on Netflix.
Just my opinion that the Alphonso is overrated.
Agree 100%.
Alphonsos are HUGELY over-rated and that's actually a common opinion in India.
I feel they're basically fake mangoes meant for exporting at high prices to foreigners who have no clue what a mango should actually taste like. That weird jelly-like pulp is actually repulsive if you're used to a Chausa or a Langda or so many other great mangoes.
Alphonsos are HUGELY over-rated and that's actually a common opinion in India.
I feel they're basically fake mangoes meant for exporting at high prices to foreigners who have no clue what a mango should actually taste like. That weird jelly-like pulp is actually repulsive if you're used to a Chausa or a Langda or so many other great mangoes.
Malgova mangoes - I have a whole lot of them being naturally ripened a few feet from where I am tying this out
If you haven't had this mango, I urge you to have it. It is truly one of those fruits that can replace any dessert.
Seconded.
I live in a country which fortunately gets Alphonso mangoes from India. On the few occasions I have offered it to uninitiated guests and colleagues (making sure they aren't allergic first), the reaction has been a wide eyed disbelief of how good this variety is. Of course there are other varieties that are good (Langda is a close second).
If you ever get a box at home, unless rules are set and respected, it quickly becomes a free for all and people who hate welding a knife or peeling a fruit quickly become adept at it.
It is that good.
On a separate note: we live in interesting times where I can almost have a culinary-credo like I want to try the amazing food each place has to offer. Someone needs to put a list of these things - fruits, dishes, what have you and we need a serious conversation about how some of us can sample them from far away.
I live in a country which fortunately gets Alphonso mangoes from India. On the few occasions I have offered it to uninitiated guests and colleagues (making sure they aren't allergic first), the reaction has been a wide eyed disbelief of how good this variety is. Of course there are other varieties that are good (Langda is a close second).
If you ever get a box at home, unless rules are set and respected, it quickly becomes a free for all and people who hate welding a knife or peeling a fruit quickly become adept at it.
It is that good.
On a separate note: we live in interesting times where I can almost have a culinary-credo like I want to try the amazing food each place has to offer. Someone needs to put a list of these things - fruits, dishes, what have you and we need a serious conversation about how some of us can sample them from far away.
Start with this list https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acquired_taste and then explore the entire Wikipedia portal on food https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Food and drink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Drink .
Everytime I read about these mangoes as king I get frustrated, as the world hasn't tasted Pakistani mangoes, if possible find Sindri or Chaunsa mango from Pakistan from your local market, those are completely next level.
I think Sindri and Chaunsa are also available in India (Indian here) but I personally think Alphonsos are much richer in taste and texture.
Ymmv.
Edit - maybe I’m biased because Alphonsos are pricier so the palate thinks it’s getting something better much like pricey wine vs cheap wine which are basically the same but are perceived differently.
Ymmv.
Edit - maybe I’m biased because Alphonsos are pricier so the palate thinks it’s getting something better much like pricey wine vs cheap wine which are basically the same but are perceived differently.
The best mango is Langda - end of discussion.
I agree! I never thought Alphonsos were the best, Langda all the way!
I like the Kesar best. I am from South-Gujarat where Kesar, Alphonso(Hafus/afus) and Langda are easily available in local market. I will always choose kesar regardless the price.
Badami is highest quality followed by Raspuri imo. Former for milkshakes and later for raw eating. Everything else is noise ;)
That mango capsule has paper thin peel and so much pulp, soooo goood.
>Sindri or Chaunsa
These are available through most of the Indian subcontinent, albeit sometimes with different names.
I agree that these are much better than Alphonso. Also try Himsagar and Langra!
These are available through most of the Indian subcontinent, albeit sometimes with different names.
I agree that these are much better than Alphonso. Also try Himsagar and Langra!
Yes! To me, Sindhri is in a class of its own. No mango I had in India could ever match the Queen of Mangoes from Mirpurkhas at the height of the season.
I searched for "Banganapalli" / "Banginapalli" -- and see zero mentions in this thread (!) so far. Here's fixing that :)
One of the most popular varieties of Mango from southern part of India.
One of the most popular varieties of Mango from southern part of India.
Where I grew up, Raspuri and Malgova is something we used to have every summer. They are impossible to find in many parts of India as well and they have an awesome flavor.
Grew up in India; now in NYC.
The strong preferences around which of the varietals is the best, is a common squabble amongst south Asians.
I try to keep the allegiance fluid, because the peak harvest of each of these varietal differs by a few weeks, and I switch camps accordingly.
Imam Pasand is expensive, and they have a 4 week peak cycle, and the demand is strong enough in the south where it is traditionally grown, that they do not make it to the Northern part of India.
Alphonso is in mid-price point, and they are now commodity-harvested, as say Chiquita Bananas. It is still a good varietal, and one cannot go wrong in buying Alphonso.
Daseri takes over when peak Alphonso tapers off around say a 6 weeks cycle.
In NYC, Mexican Mangoes - Atalufo and sub-varietals - are available aplenty.
This one person's view is that the ones grown by Chiruli farms are good, and are commonly available at Whole Foods.
The strong preferences around which of the varietals is the best, is a common squabble amongst south Asians.
I try to keep the allegiance fluid, because the peak harvest of each of these varietal differs by a few weeks, and I switch camps accordingly.
Imam Pasand is expensive, and they have a 4 week peak cycle, and the demand is strong enough in the south where it is traditionally grown, that they do not make it to the Northern part of India.
Alphonso is in mid-price point, and they are now commodity-harvested, as say Chiquita Bananas. It is still a good varietal, and one cannot go wrong in buying Alphonso.
Daseri takes over when peak Alphonso tapers off around say a 6 weeks cycle.
In NYC, Mexican Mangoes - Atalufo and sub-varietals - are available aplenty.
This one person's view is that the ones grown by Chiruli farms are good, and are commonly available at Whole Foods.
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I wonder how these differ from the Mexican Ataulfo? It is not fibrous, has the yellow/orange color, nice and sweet in my experience, about $1.50 each in SF Bay Area grocery stores.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataulfo_(mango)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataulfo_(mango)
It's like listening to a bootleg recording of a tribute act of your favorite band.
A similar thread on Mangoes from two years ago:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28166646
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28166646
For some reason lots of popular Indian products which india has the potential to supply are banned in USA for one reason or the other. For example, mustard oil and ghee in culinary usage.
You can get ghee at Trader Joe's of all places.
Walmart sells ghee and mustard oil
Alphonso aren't the be all and end all. They are gorgeous but I've had other varieties that are just as nice if not nicer. Now if I could just remember what they were called...
Dasheri is one.
If so, that's a good thing. We don't need to have access to whetever foreign fruit/plant/etc on tap (whether we're Americans, Indians, Chileans, Irish, or whatever else).
"Alphonso mangoes" are not exactly staple foods, wont help with anybody's substinence, and don't need to be transported half a world away, with the climate impact this has, just so some well-off folks can satisfy their cravings.
"Alphonso mangoes" are not exactly staple foods, wont help with anybody's substinence, and don't need to be transported half a world away, with the climate impact this has, just so some well-off folks can satisfy their cravings.
How about the ice cream mango? I thought it was Indian origin too, but wiki says its from Trinidad and Tobago?
I imported them from India for my wife one season because she was very home-sick.
King is always hard to get haha
They are not as of 2023. I just got Indian Alphonsos for $50 a box. You have to reserve it in advance. They come through air cargo.
Spectacular mango, should be grown in more places.
it may require some effort and patience to find Alphonso mangoes in America, it is not entirely impossible.
There's a great podcast episode on the Gastropod that discusses this issue:
Mango Mania: How the American Mango Lost its Flavor—and How it Might Just Get it Back (2018) https://gastropod.com/mango-mania-how-the-american-mango-los...
The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Florida (mentioned in the podcast episode) has been hosting a Mango Festival for nearly 30 years. https://fairchildgarden.org/events/mango-festival/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Tropical_Botanic_Gar...
The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Miami, Florida (mentioned in the podcast episode) has been hosting a Mango Festival for nearly 30 years. https://fairchildgarden.org/events/mango-festival/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Tropical_Botanic_Gar...
Kesar is the best. :)
NOTE: I work with natural and organic farmers in India to try and find a market for their produce.
Believe me when I say this - naturally ripened mangoes are on a different level altogether when it comes to taste. What you get overseas is usually not naturally ripened as the amount of wastage is usually quite high with naturally ripened mangoes.