Saturday, July 14, 2012

A Miami Mango festival

It is a bit of heaven on earth at the Fairchild Gardens this weekend!
Hundreds of happy people lined up to see the variety of mangoes on display for auction. There were over 200 varieties to feast our eyes on.
And yes- there was a tasting tent set up nearby and we went through it about three times, making notes and not taking any pictures because our hands were too full (sorry).
I love the long leggy versus the round and red, the smooth against the rough... the variety is astounding. And so it is with taste too. We narrowed our top favorites to the Florida mangoes such as the Beverly- which is so tangy it has to be served mixed with another variety, and the Kent- I leaned to it because it is my son's name, but it's a peachy sweet too, and the Fair Ruby- both fibrous and SWEET.
The Cac from Vietnam is described as citrus and peach with a floral bouquet. Lemon yellow flesh. Our favorites from overseas to our taste buds were the Mallika (Indonesia) soft and smokey, and the Nam Doc Mai (Thailland), pure sweetness.

The Fairchild variety was selected by Dr. David Fairchild in the 1920's from the panama Canal zone. It is tasty and among the "most ornamental" of the mango trees. The Graham, which thrives in moist tropical areas, has a thick skin good for rough handling and yet a fibreless orange soft and juicy pulp.
Look at these teeny wild mangoes!!!! Aren't they adorable?
Who thinks up these names?


Michael can't help fondling every one.

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