mmm … mangoes

Shape, June, 2004 by LaVonne Taylor

Though imported mangoes are available most of the year, domestically grown ones, which come from Florida and California and are considered the best by aficionados, peak in summer. Here are some facts about this delicious, highly nutritious fruit.

* Mangoes come in hundreds of varieties and a wide range of shapes and sizes, and are distant relatives of cashews, pistachios, poison oak and poison ivy.

* Though half an average-sized mango has only 70 calories, the fruit is loaded with vitamin C, beta carotene and another antioxidant carotenoid, beta cryptoxanthin. Mangoes are also one of the few lowfat sources of vitamin E. In addition, they contain large amounts of soluble fiber, including pectin that helps to lower cholesterol.

* When ready to eat, a mango will yield slightly to the touch and have an intense flowery aroma. The skin may remain greenish; in fact, color isn't a good indicator of ripeness.

* If you bring home a slightly unripe mango, keep it in a paper sack at a cool room temperature for a couple of days. If you place two mangoes in a bag together, they will ripen faster. Once ready to eat, they can be refrigerated for two or three days in a plastic bag. A few small black spots on the skin are normal.

quick mango recipes

* Make a smoothie by tossing 1 cup of diced mango into 1 cup of buttermilk or lowfat yogurt with 5 ice cubes.

* Create a surprising salsa with diced red and green bell peppers, onions, mangoes and a spritz of lime juice.

* Puree mangoes in a food processor or blender and drizzle over rice pudding, angel food cake, sherbet or lowfat frozen yogurt.

* Add diced mango to chicken or seafood salads.