Mangoes continue to surprise and delight me. They are a lot like people. Whenever I think I know something about them, they prove me wrong. Things that grow are complex by nature, and taking a cookie cutter approach to defining them always fails.
As I proceed on my mango-centric food education mission, I have a responsibility to admit when I am wrong and when I too am guilty of being “scripted” along the way.
It’s peak kent mango season in Mexico and kent mangoes are incredibly juicy and sweet with vibrant orange flesh. Personally, they are not my favorite eating mangoes, they are far too sweet. But I quite like them for juicier and sweeter endeavors, like popsicles and slushies!
Even though I would never recommend juicing mangoes; their flesh makes puree more than it makes juice, the kent varietal works incredible well in a juicer. Because it has so few fibers and is extremely juicy, the puree just glides right through the juicer instead of getting held up in the pulp section as it does with most other varietals. The final consistency ends up being more of a thick, silky nectar, which is perfect for this healthy and bold looking mango and turmeric slushy!
We currently inhabit a digital age, where the constant barrage of messaging can feel overwhelming, jarring and a bit manipulative. We crave instant gratification. Easy outlets for this include food and shopping. We desire the lowest price possible. When we get a deal, we tell ourselves that we are smart shoppers. We feel fulfilled by dabbling in novel and varied shopping experiences.
As we get comfortable subscribing to meal delivery kits and ingesting our daily dose of produce by way of morning juice, produce merchandising seems like an archaic concept. All the while, more and more research shows that, regardless of all the virtual and rapid reward delivery trends, consumers continue to seek real life, in-the-flesh experiences, like choosing fruits and vegetables by hand. The old world way of showcasing fruits and vegetables in abundant, vibrant displays, is still one of the most successful sales tools in produce. Attracting customers to your product at the store level takes skill, passion, and creativity, and, of course, a clear understanding of your customers.
Kids, adults, and even dogs, love the refreshing, ice-cold flavor of fresh fruit popsicles on a steamy summer day. A mango’s natural sweetness and tropical vibrancy is the perfect component for healthy, naturally sweet popsicles that you can eat day and night!
In my current life surrounded by mangoes, I meet countless mango lovers who fell head over heels through their excursions around the globe. (I personally discovered mangoes as a little girl in Nicaragua.) The mango embodies flavors of nostalgia, awakening the feeling of those far off exotic places with every bite. The most devout members of this mango lover tribe seem to be those who discovered mangoes while in Thailand. These mango lovers have tasted mangoes with a more dynamic richness and more stages of ripeness than anywhere else in the world. They also seem to be the only mango connoisseurs that know the sweet green mango!
Mango Mania is poised to take Northern California by storm, leaving behind unsuspecting fruit lovers with a curious appetite for organic mangoes. The exclusive, regional distribution partnership between Crespo Organic Mangoes and Earl’s Organic Produce will bring juicy, sweet summer promotions on #MuchosMangoes. The two-month summer campaign will engulf the bay with a wave of mango-centric events and tantalizing digital support, aimed at mango lovers, curious foodies and farm-to-table fans.
Every year in late spring, on the very last Monday in May, Americans celebrate Memorial Day. It’s a day where we honor serviceman who sacrificed their lives in American military operations. It’s a holiday that falls on the cusp of summer, and, for most, a BBQ weekend that signals that the long-awaited summer season has finally arrived.
The holiday has morphed over the years and turned into a long, three-day weekend, where, in addition to remembering our fallen soldiers, Americans celebrate, with fervent enthusiasm, the great American tradition of the BBQ or cookout.
This weekend, as you hang your flag at half-staff until noon, fire up the BBQ, grab your favorite people, and take advantage of the copious amounts of mangoes available at this time of year to add a tropical twist to your celebration.
In the old days, the processes of canning and jarring were essential to preserving the harvest well past winter. Today, as the world has access to most ingredients most of the time, preserving has become less essential and more of an exciting culinary trick. Making jams and compotes is one of the best ways to extend the life of your favorite seasonal fruit past the curfew nature has set for it. The creativity inspired by the blank canvas of making your own appeals to me most. I can add herbs, spices, booze… I can go sweet, tart, spicy, tropical… (See: Mango Jam).
Summertime screams mango. As the Mexican mango season blossoms in the peak of summer, providing us with abundance, we begin to crave more and more of this sweet perfumed fruit. Despite the mango being the most widely consumed fruit in the world, it is still one of the most intimidating fruits in our kitchens. This hands on class presented by Crespo Organic Mangoes & Earls Organic Produce takes the pressure off; teaching the basics and beyond, of all things mango. From selection to storage advice, to the best cutting techniques for your skill level (including kids), it’s all here. The class will cover the full spectrum of simple yet tantalizing recipes, yielding several more ideas and kitchen tips to use all summer long. There will be plenty of mango nutritional wisdom offered and juicy tidbits of grower and agricultural knowledge, maybe we will even share a few of our industry’s best kept Secrets and Lies. You will walk away with the sweetest ideas for your summer mango mania, as well as a case of organic mangoes in hand; thanks to Earl’s Organic Produce!
As a by-product of the partnership between Crespo Organic Mangoes, the Crespo Organic Kitchen and Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb Center (a sustainable, organic and fair-trade food education and marketing company), a Crespo Organic Mango Seminar was born. The seminar experience was designed to educate and inspire mango industry professionals and consumers alike. Starting in the mango orchard, and ending in a fully immersive, hands-on mango eating adventure, we aim to highlight Crespo Organic Mango’s Mexican roots as an essential component of the personality and flavor of the mango.
Under The Mango Tree is a sweet spot, where I, a long time mango industry crackerjack, share everything I know. A place to find mango centric, agricultural, food and culture knowledge and a few juicy industry secrets and lies.
