New in the Basket: Mango Season

“The king of the fruits," mango fruit is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich fruits with unique flavor, fragrance, taste, and heath promoting qualities, making it numerous-uni among new functional foods, often labeled as “super fruits."

Mango is one of the delicious seasonal fruits grown in the tropics. The tree is believed to be originating in the sub-Himalayan plains of the Indian subcontinent.

Mango is a tropical tree cultivated in many regions of India, and now its farming has been extended wide across the world in many continents.After flowering, its fruits grow at the end of a long, string-like peduncle, with sometimes more than one fruit to a peduncle.

Each fruit measures 5 to 15 cms in length and about 4 to 10 cms in width, and has typical “mango” shape, or sometimes oval or round. Its weight ranges from 150 g to around 750 g. Outer skin (pericarp) is smooth and is green in un-ripe mangoes but turns in ripe fruits into golden yellow, crimson red, yellow or orange-red depending upon the cultivar type. Fresh mango season lasts from April until August.

Mango tree-Mangifera indica.

Mango comes in different shapes and sizes depending upon cultivar types. Internally, its flesh (mesocarp) is juicy, orange-yellow in color with numerous soft fibrils radiating from its centrally placed flat, oval-shaped stone (enveloping a single large kidney-shaped seed). Its flavor is pleasant and rich and tastes sweet with a mild tartness. A high-quality mango fruit should feature no or very less fiber composition and minimal tartness. Mango seed (stone) may either has a single embryo or sometimes polyembryonic.

Health benefits of Mango fruit

1. Mango fruit is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds.

2. According to new research study, mango fruit has been found to protect from colon, breast, leukemia and prostate cancers. Several trial studies suggest that polyphenolic antioxidant compounds in mango are known to offer protection against breast and colon cancers.

3. Mango fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin-A and flavonoids like β-carotene, α-carotene, and β-cryptoxanthin. 100 g of fresh fruit provides 180 IU (54 μg) or 6% of recommended daily levels of vitamin-A. Together; these compounds have been known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision.

4. Vitamin-A also required for maintaining healthy mucosa and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes is known to protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.

5. Fresh mango is a good source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides 156 mg of potassium while just 1 mg of sodium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

6. It is also an excellent source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin-C and vitamin-E. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents as well as scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals. Vitamin B-6 or pyridoxine required for GABA hormone production within the brain.

7. It also controls homocysteine levels within the blood, which may otherwise be harmful to blood vessels resulting in coronary artery disease (CAD), and stroke.

8. Further, it composes moderate amounts of copper. Copper is a co-factor for many vital enzymes, including cytochrome c-oxidase and superoxide dismutase (other minerals function as co-factors for this enzyme are manganese and zinc). Copper also required for the production of red blood cells.

Preparation and serving method

Wash mangoes in cold running water in order to remove dust/dirt and any surface chemical residue. Mop dry its outer skin using a soft cloth. Mango fruit should be eaten all alone without any seasonings/additions to experience its rich flavor.

Cut the fruit lengthwise into three pieces in such a way that the middle portion consists of husky seed. Then, slice through the skin to separate the skin from the pulp. Chop pulp into desired sections.

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