Roots
Mango season
By Marifi Jara
QUELIMANE, Mozambique–I hear from my family back in San Fabian that the markets are now bursting with mangoes. Yum yum!
That is such a pleasant surprise as I had thought that much of the expected harvest would have been spoiled by typhoon “Pepeng” in October last year. It bids well for the coming 12th National Mango Congress on February 24-26, which will be held for the first time in Pangasinan. I don’t know why it took this long, but it’s about time the province plays host to this event; it is, after all, the biggest mango producer in the country. (Can read more about the event from The Sunday Punch online archives, Business section.– http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/2010/01/17/12th-national-mango-congress-set-feb-24-26/#STS=g50rg9aq.1h28)
It’s mango season here too. But I still feel homesick for our oh-so-sweet Carabao mangoes. What we get here are mostly what I know as the Indian mango and Apple-mango varieties, which are not really my preference in terms of texture. Nonetheless, with the temperature and humidity levels rising, rising, rising, it’s a great time for putting the blender to work for refreshing glasses of mango shake.
I am also missing homemade mango-refrigerator cake: those sinful layers of Graham crackers, cream-and-condensed milk mixture, and lots of diced mango! Something sweet and cold is such pure delight in the summer heat. I haven’t made it here because I have yet to find Graham crackers in the shops, but I will now be on the lookout for a possible alternative.
And of course, fresh mango is delicious as it is or chilled for a couple of hours. If you’re not watching your weight, pour in some whipped cream for an extra joy.
What they sometimes do here is mash the mango – unpeeled and must be very ripe – in their hands, then make a cut at the end where the stalk had been then suck the crashed pulp. It doesn’t sound very appealing to me but I can imagine it would be a wonderful way of enjoying some sort of mango shake out in the bushes.
Around here, there is no mango industry to speak of and I don’t think there are efforts to develop one in the near future.
“We always eat our fruit fresh,” said a Mozambican acquaintance during a casual get-together at our house where I served up some dried mangoes I brought with me from the Philippines when I first arrived here back in mid-2008. He picked a piece then chewed on it with much curiosity. He did not exactly fall in love with it. But we did have an interesting chat about mango and fruit processing and the possibilities for export.
Now I wish I can go to the coming Mango Congress. Not really for the business and economic sessions of it, but I will surely enjoy the mango-based pastry and beverage-making contests. I dream of the many undiscovered ways of loving a mango.
