The Aussie mango

Hats off to our farmers

Delicious mangoes are one of the joys of summer and they’ve been superb this year – and cheap! I just hope our mango growers are being rewarded for their hard work. Because that’s just what it has been.

Back in Dinosaur Days, when I tasted my first Aussie mango (a Bowen mango) as a teenager, the fruit was nice enough but there was a lot of fibre.

Oh my, how our mangoes have improved! Today they are sweet, juicy and delicious. And when I set out to write this mango story, I imagined I would be following a fine tale of Research and Development. However, after reading about Operation KP (for Kensington Pride) a pfd on the www.nt.gov.au website, I’m convinced that it’s the diligent farming practices, observation and hard work of our Aussie growers in northern coastal Queensland, the Northern Territory Top End, Katherine region and Western Australia’s Kununurra that have worked the real magic.

My thanks to growers such as Peter Cavanagh, who began growing mangoes in the Northern Territory in the 1970s, and CSIRO researcher Sam Blaikie (the two editors of Operation KP) for this pioneering work. Their efforts, and that of many others, have transformed the Bowen mango, now known as the Kensington Pride, into a world-class fruit.

Improvement is continuing. Since 1994, the Australian National Mango Breeding Program has been improving it still further using hand-pollination and selection breeding techniques. Three hybrids – niftily named NMBP1243, NMBP1201 and NMBP4069 – are in the process of commercial release. These hybrids all have Kensington Pride as their paternal parent, and about 70% of planted trees are still Kensington Pride. Calypso (B74), R2E2 and Honey Gold are also popular and on sale in our fruit shops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. (Only 5%-10% of our mangoes are exported.)

Where do mangoes come from?

The mango (Mangifera indica L.) was first found in northeast India 25 to 30 million years ago and legend has it that Buddhist monks introduced the mango to eastern Asia in the 4^th or 5^th centuries BC. By the 10^th century AD, Persian traders had taken mangoes to the Middle East and East Africa. The arrival of Portuguese traders in India in the 15^th century brought mangoes to South America and the Philippines.

Apparently the mango found its way to Australia in the 1800s and, as far as I can make out, the parentage of the Bowen mango is shrouded in mystery. But certainly, it is this orphan mango – perhaps from the wrong side of the blanket – that is the basis of our Aussie industry today.

Mango Matters: check out this website

Mango growers here have excellent marketing back-up from the Australian Mango Industry Association on their website Mango Matters. This website has tempting recipes, photos of luscious mangoes and nutrition information.  The mango is high in energy, low in fat, is low GI, and is a great source of calcium, vitamins A and C, beta-carotene and potassium. Yes, it will help keep you healthy and looking young! I’m indebted to the Mango Matters website and the marketing team, including Laura and Caroline Addy at The Hallway, and Mango Marketing Manager Elisa King, for this history and nutritional information, and the super photos of the case of mangoes, top, and the ‘hedgehog’ sliced R2E2 mango, left.

Mango memory lane

Years ago when I went to live in Thailand, I began tasting some truly memorable mangoes. They flourish in the wet, tropical climate and our house by the canal had numbers of Ma Muang Mun trees, the widely-grown, strongly fibred mango that Thais eat green, peeled and sliced and dipped in a mix of chilli, salt and sugar. 

The Thais eat other mango varieties ripe, the most prized being Ok Rong and Nam Dok Mai. The latter, my research says, is available in Australia now, but perhaps in limited quantities.

Buying and cutting

To buy mangoes, test gently for a slight ‘give’ near the stem, if necessary let them ripen out of the fridge and, once they are ripe, put them in the fridge. But be sure to eat them quickly.

Cutting them in the familiar ‘hedgehog’ pattern works well. But personally, I prefer the Thai cutting method. Run a sharp knife around the perimeter of the fruit and carefully peel the skin from one side. Then slice through the peeled half across the stone, starting from the stem end. Cut this half crosswise in slices and slide the slices onto a plate. Turn the mango over and repeat on the other side. Mangoes cut this way are traditionally served with steamed sticky rice flavoured with coconut.

Here is the recipe. Be sure to try it in Thailand if you are there in their Hot Season, the best time for Thai mangoes.

Mangoes with Sticky Rice (Khao Neow Ma Muang)

For six serves:

4 cups sticky (glutinous) rice

2 cups coconut cream

1 cup white sugar, plus 2 tablespoons extra

½ teaspoon salt, plus pinch extra

½ cup coconut milk

3 mangoes, peeled and sliced, as at right, cutting note above

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, lightly toasted 

Put rice in a bowl, add water to cover by 5cm. Soak at least 3 hours, preferably 8 hours.

Drain rice; place a muslin cloth over the base of a large steamer; put rice on the cloth in steamer and cover with lid. Fill base of steamer with boiling water and steam rice on stove top until soft, about 20 minutes. Top up water if needed during cooking.

In a large bowl, stir together coconut cream, sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Add hot cooked rice, stir to mix and allow to cool to room temperature. In a small bowl combine coconut milk, extra sugar and pinch salt.

To serve, place a large spoonful of rice on each plate, top with coconut milk mixture and toasted sesame seeds and place mango slices beside rice. Enjoy.