"At over $30 a box, that's a king's ransom for a taste of home. But I paid up.
Inside were 12 forlorn mangoes, each wrapped in a little pink Styrofoam net stocking. This is not how mangoes were meant to be sold. In India, you find them piled on the side of the street, great pyramids of red, green and gold, ripening in the lazy heat. And a vendor chants the names of his mangoes: Himsagar, Babu Himsafar, Langra."
I can only imagine how luscious it would be to sample the 1500 varieties of fresh mangos from street markets in India! One day I will walk down the little crowded alleys, haggle with vendors, and eat myself sick on rare and ripe mangos. But that will have to remain in the realm of someday, because I don't live in India. I am lucky enough, though, to live in South Florida and right now is mango season!
Mango trees are everywhere, heavy with long thin green varieties, dark purple heart-shaped varieties, bright pink, yellow, and orange varieties! I'm not too familiar with names of the mangos that grow everywhere here, but my favorite varieties are begged, borrowed, bartered and gleaned!
In fact, I just started a fruit gleaning group to encourage people to share their fruits among their neighbors rather than let it rot on the ground as the many, many fruits ripen and we are engulfed in mango mush!
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