Mango is my favorite fruit ever! And it grows like crazy in some places in Ecuador. About 30 minutes from my hometown there is a city call Portoviejo, a valley very well known around for producing quite a few varieties of the fruit. We even call the people there "come-mangos" (mango-eaters) as a silly nickname. My mother was born in Portoviejo, so she is a come-mango, that must be a reason to love the fruit so much, no?.
We have tiny little ones that you can just squeeze the juice directly in your mouth, others are just better cut in wedges, and also the big variety that we find here in any mercado, but with the pulp more green in color than yellow.
I agree that the fruit is delicious by itself, and when is ripe and juicy is certainly good, but my favorite way of eating it, the way I remember most from my childhood is green and salty, pretty much like pickles. Still at this point in time, there is not a single corner store in Ecuador, when mango is in season, that you can not find a big glass container with green mangos all pickled for sale...mmm, delicious!
I'm always picking up the un-ripe ones at the supermarket, with all their firm-yellow-crunchy-bitter flavor to take home with me, then, I peel them, cut it in pieces, put them in a glass container with water, salt and a little vinegar if I have any, let it alone for a day or 2, and voila!
My mouth is watering already!!
2 comments:
I introduced my husband to mangos con limón y sal on a bus ride in Costa Rica. I miss eating mangoes that way--even when I manage to get the not-quite-ripe ones here, they don't quite taste the same!
Mangoes are my favorite fruit ever, I grew up in Ecuador eating "mangos con sal". Although I also like the very small ones that you squeeze and suck all the juice "mangos chupadores" I have not been able to find them in the Sates. You brought back some memories with this entry....
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