Mangoes of varied flavors, hues out of Africa

Tag: freeze dried mango

The mangoes of Africa were ready for their close-up. Amid the scores of varieties savored at last weekend's International Mango Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden -- and the hundreds that grow in Asia, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean -- Heidi, Malindi, Zebda and Nelpetite were in the spotlight.

"Mangoes came in from India to Egypt, then moved south through the African continent," says Richard Campbell, who, as senior curator of tropical fruit, is Fairchild's chief mango wrangler.

"We grow them," he says. "One comes from Kenya -- Malindi. It is a spicy tropical mango, very Caribbean. It's flavorful, spicy, with a lot of peach in it.

"Zebda, from Egypt, is very well-adapted to South Florida. It's a green mango -- green skin, very good, disease-resistant, no fiber.

"Nelpetite and Heidi are from South Africa. Nelpetite is a dwarf variety with good, rich flavor. Heidi is a big, beautiful, bold mango," Campbell says. "It's a dense tree, not dwarf, but semi-dwarf."

In our part of the world, mangoes are a slice-score-eat affair, and two decades ago, the Mango Gang of chefs -- Allen Susser, Norman Van Aken, Mark Militello, Douglas Rodriguez, Robbin Haas -- showed us how they can spark savory dishes.