Coming back from Paradise is never easy. Often it is the dread of returning to a desk piled high with work, the family’s seemingly trivial everyday demands, the garden and housekeeping out of control. Add to this the special people we have had to leave behind after a too-short visit and the foods, sand and sea of a beautiful tropical island and I begin to think that Shirley Valentine had it right!

I was very fortunate, again, to be able to share a wonderful week with my dearest old friend, Pam, and her Caymanian family. What made this trip even more special was the presence of our third musketeer from highschool days, Franny. Neither Pam nor I had seen her in over 29 years. The island was the perfect setting for this fantasy reunion. In spite of all of our wool-gathering, Fran and I did manage to consume a considerable amount of traditional island foods, both of us becoming addicted to the mango which was in prime season. Fortunately for us, Pam and her husband John own their very own mango grove, so we were kept well supplied.

The mango is actually native to India, where it has always played a major part in the cuisine: chutneys, curries, pickles, salads and beverages. This evergreen tree likely made its way with Portugese sailors to Brazil and eventually into the Caribbean, Mexico and tropical parts of the United States. While India remains the largest grower of the fruit, the majority of mango you will find here in Canada will be imported from Mexico. There are hundreds of varieties of mango which may account for the variation in flavour descriptions (it is variously described as tasting like a peach/pineapple/grape/melon/apricot/banana with a hint of vanilla!) Or just indescribably yummy.  It is easy to understand why the fruit was prized by Buddha and is still considered sacred in India. I am sure that Buddha must have seen the difficulty in enjoying the succulent flesh of the mango as a perfect allegory for life. Alas, there had to be a down-side to eating the mango and that is its clingstone pit. There are numerous reported perfect ways to peel and eat this fruit, however, none of them will ensure that you don’t end up with the syrupy  juices running down your arms.

I personally have found that the easiest way to consume mango is: A) In a mango daiquiri at the Grand Cayman Hyatt pool bar, or B) after someone else has peeled and sliced them for you into a bowl. I asked Pam what the true Caymanian way to eat the fruit was, and the answer was (unfortunately) to stand in the sea and peel them with your teeth, starting from top to bottom. Salt from the water only enhances the sweet flavour of the fruit, and the fruit float so you can take more than one at a time. In the olden days, i.e. before mega-tourists, the natives would leave the peel and seed for the fish. I doubt that this would be greatly appreciated on the popular Seven-mile beach where Fran & I were staying.

As a substitute for an azure sea with coral-pink sands, you could do this in the bathtub, but wouldn’t you feel kind of ridiculous? You could also try my childhood method of eating watermelon, which was to lie across the picnic table with head hanging over the edge. This would also look ridiculous for any adult, but at least you would be outside! John says that on the Cayman’s there is one variety of mango, the Carrie, that actually will come free from the seed by a simple cut and turn method. Obviously we didn’t have any of that variety. For the most part, he does what the rest of us do and stands over the sink, peeling and slicing off the best parts for company and chews off the flesh surrounding the pit in private.

Mangoes should be purchased with final use in mind. Most mangoes start off green and then ripen to a yellow-orange or red (think of the colour of sugar maple leaves in Ontario in Autumn), but colour should not be the only factor used in selecting the fruit. Only by touch (a ripe fruit should give way when pressed slightly)and smell (there should be a fragrant flowery smell, never a turpentine smell) can a perfect mango be selected. Green mangoes are needed for making  pickles, riper fruit are best for use in salsa or wherever you need firm chunks, and the ripest saved for purees, sauces or just eating whole. Avoid fruit that is totally green as it will not likely ripen further, and don’t waste your money on a fruit that has wrinkled skin; it is way past its prime!

Mangoes can be ripened further after purchase by placing them in a paper bag with other fruit such as apples for a few days in a cool, but not cold, spot. Ripe fruit should be kept refrigerated. In the food industry, we can buy perfect mango halves in a plastic tray that come to us frozen from Mexico. The halves just pop out as needed. These are perfect for most uses where firmness is not an issue, such as in sauces and daiquiris. I should stop giving out all of our trade secrets!