Laguna de Apoyo, Nicaragua: The Mango II

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Mango II

The mango (Mangifera indica) season is full on at Estacion Biologica. It happens twice each year in Nicaragua. The tree above us is dropping about four ripe mangoes onto the roof every hour, including the hours I would prefer to sleep.
Mangos are excellent sources of vitamins A (25% of daily recommendation) and C (76% of daily recommendation), and supplies 25% of the recommended daily fiber in a single 1-cup serving (see here for more information).
Mangos are also great because they are easily grown without pesticides. The mangos in the US supermarkets might be heavily sprayed (be sure to check), but with reasonable cultivation practices, it is just not necessary (see here for more on organic foods). We have a couple of mango trees and we never spray or chemically treat them. Our mangos might not be picture perfect, but they are delicious.

Nicaragua has taught me to enjoy them to the maximum when mangos are abundant. Later, none are to be had. So, it's peeled mangos, sliced mangos (for breakfast), mango juice (for lunch), peeled mangos (any time), mango smoothies, mango tea, mango jam, mango and rum (!), and of course, mango pastries.

Patricia prepares an awesome mango pie. Foto by Jeffrey McCrary.

These mango pieces got a cup of yogurt and then bake time. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

Patricia pulls the mango tart out of the oven as Wyatt pulls a paparazzi. Photo by Jeffrey McCrary.

You might get the idea from these pictures that the pie was delicious. It didn't last long. Mangos combine excellently with yogurt, no sugar is necessary. We have also tried mango cake. Our volunteers Lu and Wyatt did an awesome job! Except that Wyatt wanted to eat it straight from the dish.