Alphonso: The Undisputed King of Mangoes

 For most desi immigrants, travel to India happens primarily  over the Christmas vacation. The work cycle and demands of the school schedule make winter pretty much the only time to visit family back home. There is one huge drawback to visiting India during this time period. You miss out on feasting on the true king of fruit; the Mango.

In India, mangoes come into season Mid April and are available until the end of June. Mangoes are the true indicator that summer has finally arrived. The down side for the Desi who chose to immigrate is having to say goodbye to the pleasure of this summer delight. It was a family emergency that brought me back home at this time of the year. Being my first time visiting India in summer in 24 years, you bet I have a lot of mango catching up to do!

Many will argue till blue in the face about which mango variety is the best. The Goans insist it’s the Mankurad variety while the residents of West Bengal swear by the Himsagar. But a true Mumbaikar cannot be swayed by that decision. For us, the true King of all mango varieties undoubtedly is the Alphonso Mango. What is it about  the bright orange flesh that basically melts once it touches the inside of your mouth? With its honey nectar sweet finish, that unctuous mouthfeel that’s more buttery than fibrous the Alphonso mango satisfies in a manner that’s hard to compare. This varietal is supposedly named after Alphonso de Albuquerque, a Viceroy General credited for the establishments of the Portuguese colonies in Goa and Bombay. The Portuguese introduced grafting on trees that led to the development of this particular mango varietal. Historians may dislike the colonists for enforcing their methods on our country, but for leaving us with this exemplification of divinity, we ought to be deeply indebted. 

Many people say that the best way to eat a mango is to scoop the flesh off the peel and cut into cubes. So prim and propah!  I believe there is only one way to eat this fistful of happiness; cut it into slices and tear it up in your mouth. You should be able to extract four slices from either side of the stone and two smaller slices from around the stone. One by one, you pop the slices into your mouth and using your teeth, scrape the flesh off the skin clean into your mouth. Then you give the skin a once over between the incisors, ensuring no traces of fruit behind. Once that part is done, you grab the stone with your fingers and using your teeth, you gnaw, you chew, you suckle, you spare no efforts to pull that stubborn flesh insisting on remaining on the stone.  When you’re done,  there should be nothing left but a pile of crumpled withered skin and a stone that looks like the picture of a protozoa you learnt about in biology class. If you have done it right, you should be wearing mango all over your fingers, palms, wrists, cheeks, chin and lips. For neophytes, please consider an apron. There’s only so much Tide can lift off your garments, I don’t care what the ad says. Oh, I should have mentioned. It might be a good idea to wash your hands before you begin this journey back to your childhood.

And guys, a word of advice. I highly discourage this manner of devouring a mango as a first date activity. But if you do decide to go for it,  and she still sticks around for a second date…take her home immediately and introduce her to your Mama.