Mangoes are my favorite fruit. I am glad they are becoming more mainstream and more varieties are available.  I get a box a week from our local Indian store during the summer months.  Somehow the boxes that appear in winter months in Costco and the supermarkets never ripen into juicy, finger licking goodness.

Mangoes originated in South East Asia (maybe that is why I love them) and were brought to the Caribbean by the Spanish. In Puerto Rico, there are native mango trees growing everywhere.  These trees are large and gnarled.  Apparently, the locals look down on these native varieties as they can be stringy. 

Puerto Rico has been exporting mangos since the early 90’s and almost all of them go to Europe.  The US mainland gets its mangos from Mexico, which is cheaper due to land transportation.  In addition, the Keitt mango (80% of commercially grown mangoes) is preferred by the European market.  Keitt is pronounced like Katy.

Of course, I had to plant a mango tree in our yard.  In January 2019, found a Valencia Pride in Home Depot and planted it by the back fence.  It was going to form a beautiful canopy over the back yard.  Our neighbor was concerned the roots would destroy his retaining wall, so I moved the tree.  It is looks healthy and happy.

Once the jungle next to the house was cleared, we discovered a large mango tree! So exciting. The fruit are small, long and sweet.  The tree is on the hill, and every morning I would find that one of two mangoes had rolled down the hill for me.

This tree produces a lot of fruit. It is a bit odd that it does not follow the traditional mango season of May-Sept.  But I am not complaining.  We eat the fruit, juice them, make mango ice cream and popsicles.  All delicious options.

I have also made mango pickle and dehydrated slices to take home as fresh mangos cannot be brought back.