I’m sure you’ve noticed it too: the tall trees in varying stages – some full of blossoms, some densely populated with young fruit and others with branches bowing with the weight of those signalling that they will soon be ready to be picked. It’s coming. It’s almost here. Mango season!
Soon, huge, fist-sized, yellow to orange flesh, fragrant, juicy, sweet mangoes, will be ready. Oh, and let’s not forget the small variety that we can cup in our hands, our fingers protecting in loving embrace.
I’ve got some decisions to make when I hold my first mango of the season – firm, ripe, and sweet smelling, cupped in the palm of my hand. How shall I have my first taste of the season? Should I roll the mango to soften the flesh, make a small bite at the opposite end of the stem and suck on it? Should I tear the skin with my teeth and bite into the flesh, the juices running down the sides of my chin? Should I make deep slices of the sides dividing the mango into three pieces, scraping the flesh with my teeth with the skin intact? Leaving the seed with its surrounding band of flesh for last? Very important decisions to be made.
