Thursday, May 3, 2018

Where are you Dear Alphonso?

It is mango season!

I learnt several new things from an excellent piece "We Were Promised the World's Most Delicious Mangoes. They Never Came." at Vice.com.

The story resonated with me, because it connects two geographies (western Maharashtra and south Florida) which I have called home for extended periods, and a fruit I love.

Here are some of the highlights:
  • India grows over 40% of the worlds mangoes (over 1000 varieties). The scientific name of a mango is mangifera indica.
  • 90% of US's mangoes come from Mexico, Peru and Brazil. The 2-3 week ship voyage is the primary barrier for Indian mangoes. Air transport is too expensive.
  • Tommy Atkins and the Kent are the most popular mangoes in the US. These "shitty" mangoes trace their origin to India in the late 1800s, when 12 saplings of a bunch of different varieties were shipped to the USDA.
  • Only one of them the "Mulgoba" survived, and spread through south Florida. The varieties of mango popular in the US were descendants of the Mulgoba that grew on the properties of Thomas Atkins of Broward County and Leith Kent of Coconut Grove.

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