“The king of fruits”, Mango fruit is one of the most popular, nutritionally rich fruit with unique flavor, fragrance, taste, and heath promoting qualities making it a common ingredient in new functional foods often called “super fruits”.

Mango is one of the delicious tropical seasonal fruit that is originated from the Indian subcontinent. Mangoes belong to the family of Anacardiaceae, which also includes numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plants such as cashew, pistachio etc.

Mango is a tropical tree cultivated in many regions and now distributed wide across the world in many continents. Usually, fruits grow at the end of a long, string like stem, with sometimes more than one fruit to a stem.

Each fruit measures 5 to 15 cm in length and about 4 to 10 cm in width, and have typical “mango” shape, or sometimes oval and round. The weight ranges from 150 gm to around 750 gm. Outer skin is smooth and is green in un-ripe mangoes but turns into golden yellow, bright yellow or orange-red when ripen depending on the cultivar.



Internally, the juicy flesh has orange-yellow color with numerous soft fibers radiating from the husk enveloping the single large kidney-shaped seed. The flavor is pleasant and rich, and tastes sweet with mild tartness. The high quality mango fruit feature no or very less fiber content and minimal sour taste. The seed may either have a single embryo, or sometimes polyembryonic.

Health benefits of Mangoes

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

• Mango is an excellent source of Vitamin A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin. These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A also required for maintaining healthy mucus membranes and skin. Consumption of natural fruits rich in carotenes known to protect body from lung and oral cavity cancers.

• Fresh mango is a very rich source of potassium. Potassium in an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure.

• It is also a very good source of vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin C and copper. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen free radicals. 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 is also required for the production of red blood cells.

• Mango peels are also rich in phytonutrients, such as the pigment antioxidants like carotenoids and polyphenols.

• Selection and storage
  

  Mangoes are seasonal fruits; the fresh mango season begins in the month of May, when the rich fragrance of the fruit heralds its arrival and end by August. Mangoes usually harvested when they are mature and green. Un-ripe fruits are extremely sour in taste. Organic mangoes are left to ripen on the tree but over-ripen fruits falls off from the tree and get spoiled.
  
  In the store, mangoes come with various sizes and colors; therefore select the one based on the serving size and variety of fruit you love to devour. “Alphanso” variety from India and “sindhri “variety from Pakistan are known for their uniqueness. Choose the one with intact skin without any bruises or cuts.
  
  Unripe fruits can be kept at room temperature for few days, and to ripen, keep them in paper covers. Ripen ones should be stored in the refrigerator. Bring back to normal temperature when the fruit is to be eaten to get the natural taste and flavor.
  
  
  Preparation and serving method
  Wash mangoes in cold running water to remove dust and any pesticide residues. Mango fruit should be eaten all alone without any 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. Slice underneath the skin to separate the skin from the pulp. Then, chop the pulp into small cubes.

  Here are some serving tips:

• Mango fruit should be enjoyed all alone without any additions.

• Fresh mango cubes are a great addition to fruit salads.

• Mango juice with ice cubes is a popular, delicious drink.

• Mango fruit juice blended with milk as "mango-milk shake". Mango fruit is also used to prepare jam, ice- cream and in candy industries.

• The unripe, raw, green mango has been used in the preparation of pickles and chutney in the Asian countries.
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Safety profile
Mango latex allergy especially with raw, unripe mangoes is common in some sensitized individuals. The immediate reactions may include itchiness at the angle of the mouth, lips and tip of the tongue. In some people the reactions can be severe, with manifestations like swelling of the lips, ulceration at the mouth angles, respiratory difficulty, vomiting and diarrhea. Cross allergic reactions with other anacardiaceae family fruits like "cashew apples" are quite common. It is quite rare with fully ripen fruits; however, people with known case of mango allergy may have to avoid these fruits.