Mangoes And The Indian Summer!

Summers are here now…. and if you were in India – so would be the Mangoes!! This is one thing I sorely miss in the US – REAL Mangoes.. not the ones you get at grocery stores.. those have been ripened using some chemical or something.. and are without any taste!!

India has so many varieties that there are competitions in India and Pakistan also with respect to the varieties.. in order to see which one is the “best”! Here is a small list of the most popular varieties available in India – Please do tell us your favorite:

– Alphonso: from the coastal region of Devgad grows in the red soil
– Kesar: from Gujarat – most popularly from Junagad
– Langda: arguably the most popular variety in North India – UP, Haryana and Punjab
– Neelam: Also very popular in North
– Dushheri – smaller size, mostly sucked as opposed to cut and eaten… mostly in the North
– Rajapuri
– Baiganpally: from South
– Lalbaug

btw, for the botanists – here are the 35 species of Mangoes around the world:

About 35 species, including: