Why We Love It: “When Captain Haden developed the Haden mango near Miami, he did a greater kindness to the state than the Plant or Flagler railroad systems,” wrote Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings in Cross Creek Cookery. “The flavor is as though nightingales were singing to the palate.”
Mango (Mangifera indica) is tropical fruit royalty in South Florida, where hundreds of varieties of mangos grow – backyard favorites like Kent, Haden and Glenn, and beloved mangos from India (Alphonse, Mallika), Southeast Asia (Nam Doc Mai), the Caribbean (Julie, Graham), Mexico (Ataulfo) and Central America (Fairchild). Mangos can be ripe when green, yellow, orange or red; as small as pears or as large as footballs; sweet, tart and juicy; and taste of pineapple, coconut, lemon or peach. The best have buttery smooth flesh free of stringy fibers. To store, peel and cut into chunks or slices, and freeze in zip-top bags. Dehydrated mangos are a delicious snack.
Find mangos: In season from late April through September, mangos are the stars of summer farmers markets, fruit stands and backyard gardens. The Fruit & Spice Park is home to the Redland Summer Fruit Festival in June, followed a week later by Mango Mania, a total immersion mango event. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden hosts the International Mango and Tropical Fruit Festival every July. From May through August (or until supplies run out), Mango Men Homestead sell rare varieties from their mango orchard. In Miami Beach, the South Beach Mango Festival debuted Aug. 5 at Lummus Park.
