As the end of the hot season approaches (I hope!), I am enjoying the one major perk that this season has to offer: mangoes. When mangoes started coming out a couple of months ago, they were expensive: five cents a piece for small ones, and as much as 60 cents for the biggest ones. Today, however, mangoes are so ubiquitous that I simply cannot understand why some people continue to pay for them. Mango trees are everywhere, so if you do not personally have one, your family and friends surely will.
I have been given many mangoes from friends and colleagues, and I have also been bringing mangoes back from the mango tree at the volunteer house in Kandi. Last Sunday, I brought back 60 or so mangoes, another 30 on Thursday, and yesterday's haul netted me more than 40. I have been taking advantage of the abundance of mangoes to try various mango preservation techniques: mango sauce, dried mangoes, jam, etc.
Of course, I have been eating plenty of mangoes the normal way as well. On many days, I eat nothing but mangoes until dinner. While I can comfortably eat ten mangoes in a sitting, last week I learned the hard way (ie, vomiting) that 13 is too many at one time.
Now, before you mango lovers out there get too jealous, remember that this abundance of mangoes only comes during the hot season. In Sonsoro, that still means temperatures in the 110s with no electricity and thus no A/C, no fans, no cold drinks, and no ice cubes. But plenty of delicious mangoes.
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| A mango tree |
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| The morning's haul |
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| My homemade mango jam |
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| A mango smoothie, courtesy of the volunteer house blender in Kandi |
Talk about getting the low hanging fruit!
ReplyDeleteRight! But when you want the fruit that's really high up in the tree, you need a long stick, a good storm, a lot of patience, or someone to climb the tree.
ReplyDeleteYou must have been in mango heaven!! We could be doing many more things with mangoes than we do. I'm not sure why it is not as popular a fruit as others. Enjoy!!
ReplyDeleteJean
I also tried drying mangoes. The science teacher who is helping out in my garden told me that food preservation techniques are part of the middle school curriculum, so he is eager for me to teach him about drying, canning, and jam so that he can teach his students. I have a jar of canned tomatoes that I made in September, and it is a source of fascination to my Beninese friends, who have never seen such a thing.
ReplyDelete