one of the finest and most popular tropical fruits, has been cultivated in India since 2000 bc or earlier. The Indian mango, Mangifera indica, is the descendant of a wild tree still found in NE India. It is only one of over 40 (60, say some authorities) Mangifera spp, which grow in the region from India east to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea, and of which nearly half have edible fruits. But of all these M. indica is indisputably supreme; indeed, the judicious Purseglove (1968) has called it ‘king of all fruits’. It thrives only in regions where there are clearly defined seasons, and is thus more often found in the northern part of SE Asia than in Malaysia and Indonesia where local species of Mangifera have evolved to adapt to growing conditions (see below).
The mango is much loved wherever it is found, and appears in many myths and legends. In Indian Vedic literature it is spoken of as a transformation of the Lord of Creatures, Prajapati, who later became the Lord of Procreation. A legend relates how Surya Bai, daughter of the sun, became a golden Lotus in order to escape the persecutions of an evil sorceress. When the King of the land fell in love with this lotus, the sorceress burnt it to ashes. However, from its ashes sprang a mango tree, and the flower and the fruit both enchanted the King and won his love. When the ripe fruit fell to the ground, Surya Bai stepped out from it and was recognized by the King as his long-lost wife.
The mango was first made known to the outside world, it is said, by the Chinese traveller Huang Tsuang who visited India in the 1st century ad, after which cultivation of the mango generally spread eastwards. He used the name an-mo-lo, a phoneticization of the Sanskrit amra. Other names for the fruit in most Indo-European languages derive from the original Tamil man-kay or man-gay.
By the 10th century ad cultivation of M. indica had spread as far west as Persia, where it stopped, although the Egyptian climate would have been suitable.
By this time the mango had become a status symbol in India. The Moghul ruler Akbar (1556–1605) planted an orchard of mango trees at Darbhanga in Bihar, called Lakh Bagh because the number of the trees was supposedly one lakh (100,000). For a long time the cultivation of mango orchards in India remained the prerogative of rajas and nawabs.
From S. India the mango was spread by the Portuguese, who took it to Africa in the 16th century. It reached Brazil and the W. Indies in the 18th century, and Hawaii, Florida, and Mexico in the 19th century. However, although large numbers of mangoes are now grown in all these areas, India remains the world's largest producer, meeting not only the demands of an international market, but also her high domestic one.
Named varieties of mango, of which there are now many, are propagated vegetatively, a technique introduced in 16th-century Moghul India, because the tree, an enormous and handsome evergreen, does not grow true from seed.
Fruits vary in length from 5 cm (2″) to over 25 cm (10″) and in weight from under 100 g (4 oz) to over 2 kg (4.5 lb). Some kinds are almost round, others long and narrow, but they generally have a slight ridge on one side. The skin may be yellow or orange with a red flush, or else greenish-yellow (in the ‘white’ varieties) through to a rich golden-yellow. The large stone is covered with fibres which are small and short in good varieties but thick and extending right through the pulp in bad ones.
The fruit is highly aromatic. At its best the scent has a pleasant resinous quality; at worst it smells strongly of kerosene which it actually contains. Referring, evidently, to the better sort, Abul Fazl, author of the Ain-i-Akbari in the reign of Akbar, wrote of the mango:
This fruit is unrivalled in colour, smell, and taste; and some of the gourmands of Turan and Iran place it above muskmelons and grapes. In shape it resembles an apricot … a young tree will bear fruit after four years. They also put milk and treacle around the tree, which makes the fruit sweeter.
The variety of mango most acclaimed, and most often exported, is Alphonso, an Indian cultivar. In her survey of other leading varieties (there are hundreds of them) in various parts of the world, Morton (1987) makes the interesting point that in India most of the preferred varieties have yellow skins, while Europeans prefer yellow turning to red, and Americans (in Florida, at least) go for red skins. The Haden variety is exceptionally large.
Mangoes ripen satisfactorily if picked before they are fully ripe, so they can be exported fresh. Indeed, if left to ripen on the tree, they are apt to be invaded by worms. They are often canned in syrup; or pickled; or dried, for example to make amchur in India and a similar chutney in Jamaica. Another form of dried mango in India is amavat, a leathery sweet sold in small rolls.
The unripe fruit is used extensively in India and elsewhere in SE Asia for making chutneys, pickles, and relishes of various kinds. Also, Patricia Arroyo Staub (1982) remarks that Filipino women like to eat green mangoes between meals; they use salt or soy sauce to mitigate the tartness.
Mango chutney is well known. It is to be noted, however, that Indians make non-sweet chutneys from the fresh fruit; these are quite different from the more jamlike product which they export. Their mango pickle is often highly spiced and may be extremely hot. Mangoes are also used to make vinegar. Other products in India include mango cereal flakes, mango custard powder, and mango toffee.
The related species M. altissima bears clusters of tiny fruits which have a place of their own in Philippine food culture, as Doreen Fernandez (1997) observes, pointing to the numerous vernacular names (of which paho is the most common) in the Philippines. The lack of an English name attests to its unfamiliarity outside the Philippines. The fruits are sour and are mostly eaten in pickled or brined form. They are sometimes used as a substitute for olives in sauces for pasta.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Fernandez, Doreen G. (1997), Fruits of the Philippines, Makati City: Bookmark.
Morton, Julia F. (1987), Fruits of Warm Climates, Miami: Julia F. Morton.
Staub, Patricia T. Arroyo (1982), The Science of Philippine Foods, Quezon: Abaniko Enterprises.
