Ataulfo mangoes
When I was in St. Lucia I learned that there are mangoes and then there are mangoes. The only mangoes the locals deemed fit for eating out of hand were ripe from the tree ‘mangoes Julie,” silky smooth and tasting a bit like pineapple. Everything else, and there were plenty of mango trees, was relegated to some lesser purpose.
When I returned home I realized that the Tommy Atkins mangoes stocked in US grocery stores are the culinary equivalent of the Red Delicious apples sold on the street corners of St. Lucia. If you’ve never had an apple before, you might well consider a Red Delicious apple from far away Washington State a delicacy, and the same goes for the Tommy Atkins mango here in the decidedly non-tropical Pacific Northwest. But Tommy Atkins mangoes are nothing special in the mango realm.
According to The Great Mango Book: A Guide with Recipes: “Thomas Atkins submitted the fruit to the variety committee of the Florida Mango Forum multiple times during the 1950s, which rejected it due to its unremarkable eating qualities and considerable fiber in the flesh.” They’re tough, not very sweet, and so stringy that you need to follow a mango munch with a tooth-flossing session. St. Lucians wouldn’t have given them a second glance.
There are reasons for the Tommy Atkins to be popular in commerce, but superior taste isn’t one of them. They’re valued for their long shelf life and their ability to withstand shipping without bruising. The Great Mango Book concludes that “Given its limitations of flavor and worse, its all too often off flavor (resulting from softening and decay around the seed) the world searches for its replacement.”
I’ve never seen a Julie mango for sale in the US, but recently I’ve found something comparable: the Ataulfo mango. The Toronto Star described the flavor of the Ataulfo as “the love child of peach, banana, pineapple and butter.” They have light yellow skin, velvety smooth flesh with no stringiness at all, and much more Vitamin C than other cultivars. They are also sold as champagne, honey, or baby mangoes, and are available in the US in spring and summer.
I’ve been picking them up six at a time from Costco. Not local, not organic, I know. It’s the low season here for local fruit. I’ve been making lots of things with the mangos lately, including mango salsa, mango crumble, grilled mangoes, and of course, eating them ripe out of hand!
If you’ve never had to prepare a mango, here’s how. First make sure your mango is ripe. You’ll feel it give slightly under your finger, and it may smell ripe. Now to cut it. There’s no really graceful way.
Ataulfo or champagne mangoes and how to cut them
Mangoes have a long, oval stone in the middle that does not come free. If you cut too close to it you’ll get a bit of serious fiber along with the mango flesh. So hold the mango upright. You’ll see that it has a flattened shape. The pit (or stone) runs parallel to the flattened sides. Using a sharp knife, cut the mango from top to bottom along the axis of the flattened side, avoiding the pit. Now do the same on the other side. You should now have three sections, the two mango ‘cheeks’ from the sides and a thinner middle section with the pit.
Cut the skin away from the middle section and cut the remaining mango off of the pit with a small paring knife. There will still be a little left. You can be primal here and eat the last bit of mango off the pit out of hand.
Now the side sections. There are two methods here. I use a spoon to remove the mango from the skin, then eat it out of hand or chop it up for a recipe. The other way is to use a knife to crosscut the mango while it’s still in the skin, cutting the mango but not cutting through the skin. Then when you remove the mango it will come out in squares, as in this video on how to prepare mango.
Have you seen the Ataulfo mangoes for sale where you live? How about Julie mangoes? Alphonso mangos from India are said to be very similar to Ataulfo mangoes. You’ll often find canned Alphonso mango puree at your local Indian grocery, and that can be another good choice for making mango drinks and desserts. What’s the favorite mango variety in your part of the world?
Related Posts:
Mango Salsa Mango-sweet, lime juice-tangy, and a little jalapeno hot: mango salsa from smooth, non-stringy Ataulfo mangoes is good on burritos, tostadas, or just on top of beans and rice.
Mango Sorbet with Ginger and Thai Chili An easy sweet mango sorbet with lime juice, ginger, and Thai chili, with or without an ice cream maker.
Grilled Pineapple, Banana and Mango What can a vegetarian grill? This simple, healthy fruit dessert of grilled pineapple, mango, and banana.
Saffron Rice with Mango and Macadamia Saffron flavors the rice and gives it a beautiful yellow color that goes nicely with the yellow-orange mangos, while the macadamia nuts add richness and a little texture.
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I have seen the Ataulfo mangoes but have been a little nervous to buy them because they look overripe. I guess I’ll have to give them a try.
Barbara recently posted..Bananas Foster in Puff Pastry Shells and a Giveaway
That could be, you’d have to pick them out carefully like any other produce. Costco is not always the best at maintaining their produce section. Barbara, I’m sure you could make some amazing things with them with your baking skills! I just saw a recipe for mango/Thai chili/chocolate petit fours– too rich for me to make, but the flavor combo sounded incredible.
Mary – I picked up a box at Costco and we’ve been loving them. I had them this morning on Steel Cut Oats. My son put them in his smoothie last night. I don’t know if there will be any left to bake with. Thanks!
Barbara recently posted..Easy Ground Beef Tacos
I’m glad you were inspired to pick up a box, that makes me happy! Maybe the baking will have to wait for the next box of mangoes.
I just adore champagne mangoes! They’ve been on sale a lot at Whole Foods lately, so I’ve been buying them by the bagful. They are far superior to the Tommy Atkins–so sweet, always perfectly ripe, and never stringy.
Kiersten recently posted..The Type A Housewife is now Oh My Veggies!
Hi Kiersten, love your blog name change! Congrats on taking the plunge, I’ll bet it feels better already to have that done. How much are the champagne mangoes on sale at Whole Foods? Here they are $5.79 for 6 at Costco, $1.88 each at the Asian grocery store, and around $2 each at the food co-op. So understandably I’ve been getting them at Costco. I adore them, too, I have even a few more mango recipes to post. I’m working on a mango coconut sorbet now.
Answering my own question, I found that the Ataulfo mangoes are on sale for 4 for $5 at our local Whole Foods. Decent price but more than Costco.
mary recently posted..No Posts Were Found!
Sorry, I just found your reply to this now! Whole Foods sometimes has them on sale for $5/5 and our local Asian market had them priced the same when we went there. Surprisingly, our local grocery store has had champagne mangoes the past few times I went–also $1 each!
Prior to reading your post, I had never heard of Tahitian mangoes, but they had those at Whole Foods the last time we were there. I bought a few and used them in a soba noodle salad–delicious!
Kiersten recently posted..Recipe | Mexican Chocolate Breakfast Shake
Nice! I’m still on that streak, believe it or not, just got The Great Mango Book out of the library.
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