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Mangoes! - labradors - 05-01-2011

Since mangoes are in the mystery-box-dinner ingredient list, here is something you may wish to consider: Here, there are two varieties of mango: Ataulfo and Tommy Atkins.

[Image: mangoes.jpg]

The variety on the right is the "Tommy Atkins" and is the most common you would find in the States. The variety on the left is the "Ataulfo," and may be more difficult for you to find. We have both types, here, and I prefer the Ataulfo. Even though they are smaller, they are sweeter, less stringy and do have a good amount of usable fruit on them (i.e. not TOO big a pit).

This guy's article about the Ataulfos is interesting (and funny).
He also had some really good-sounding recipes.

Give this some thought and, if you ARE able to find Ataulfo mangoes, give them a try when you develop your mystery-box recipes.


Re: Mangoes! - Cubangirl - 05-01-2011

Hi, I grew up with a whole lot of different kinds of mangoes. I agree with Labs about the taste of the Ataulfos being superior. However, I find that for cooking and baking the regular kind is easier to use. The Ataulfos (we called them Phillippine mangoes in Cuba) can be hard to cut off the pit in neat chunks as they tend to be more pulpy and stringier. You also have to be careful peeling them as you can easily take some of the pulp with the peel. We used to put the mango fork in the pit on those, peel and just eat them around the pit on the fork, not doing any slices. For the others, we put the mango fork in the pit, then cut to slices and close to the pit as possible, then peel the portion left on the fork and eat that off the fork, and then cut the slices into squares without cutting the peel and eat that part off the peel. For cooking, especially salsas, the slices are easier to dice evenly.

Here, Costco has both kinds and most supermarkets have the big ones on sale this week. FWIW. my dad who loves mangoes and at 93 has selected quite a few, says the best ones are heart shaped. My mom always bought them not ripe, and put them in a brown paper bag under the sink to ripen. Once ripe they went in the fridge until ready to use.

PS, an ice pick makes a good sub for the mango fork.


Re: Mangoes! - Gourmet_Mom - 05-01-2011

The Ataulfos look like the ones I found last summer. I think they were labeled as Champagne mangoes or something? I'd have to look it up. I mentioned them on here at the time. The ones I had were VERY good! I haven't seen them here yet, this year.


Re: Mangoes! - karyn - 05-01-2011

I've seen them called Champagne mangoes around here, too. They're my favorites as well!


Re: Mangoes! - esgunn - 05-01-2011

Sometimes they are also called honey mangoes. When we were in Texas about 10 years ago, that was the first I had seen of them. Now you find them all over up here. Costco routinely carries them too. They are my favorite.

What timing. I copied this recipe today. can't wait to try it.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Thai Chicken & Mango Stir-Fry

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce (see Note)
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon brown sugar -- (1 to 2)
4 teaspoons canola oil -- divided
1 pound chicken tenders -- cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic -- minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 fresh small red or green chile peppers -- stemmed and sliced, or 1/2-3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (1 to 2)
4 cups bite-size broccoli florets
1/4 cup water
2 mangoes -- peeled and sliced
1 bunch scallions -- cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil -- preferably Thai
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 lime -- cut into 6 wedges (optional)

Combine fish sauce, lime juice, cornstarch and brown sugar to taste in a small bowl.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add chicken; cook, stirring, until just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil, garlic, ginger and chiles (or crushed red pepper) to the pan. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add broccoli and water; cook, stirring, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add mangoes and scallions; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the reserved sauce and chicken; cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in cilantro, basil and mint. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Source:
"EatingWell: January/February 2010"
S(Internet Address):
"http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/thai_chicken_mango_stirfry.html?section=comments#tabs"
Start to Finish Time:
"0:45"

NOTES : Ingredient note: Fish sauce is a pungent Southeast Asian condiment made from salted, fermented fish. Find it in the Asian-food section of large supermarkets and in Asian specialty markets. We use Thai Kitchen fish sauce, lower in sodium than other brands (1,190 mg per tablespoon), in our nutritional analyses

Both ripe and underripe mango work well in this chicken and vegetable stir-fry. If the mangoes you have are less ripe, use 2 teaspoons brown sugar. If they're ripe and sweet, just use 1 teaspoon or omit the brown sugar altogether.

Reviews: I did sub snap peas for broccoli since my husband doesn't like broccoli. I would try green beans next. I also added extra ginger and it was great. ***My best advice: if you're not watching your sodium too closely, then add a 2 +TBSP of soy sauce. I added soy sauce after I had a couple of bites because it was clearly lacking robust flavor

I used sambal oelek (a chili paste) instead of the chilis and added extra ginger and garlic.






Re: Mangoes! - foodfiend - 05-01-2011

Thanks so much, Labs! Our Sam's Club carries both varieties, and last week they only had the Atauflo type. I needed them for daiquiris, but bought frozen diced mangoes instead since I had only used the Tommy Atkins type and was unfamiliar with the others. I will be going there tomorrow, and will give those smaller ones a try. If you hadn't mentioned that they were sweeter and less stringy, and that the pit is smaller, I probably would have waited until the "regular"ones were back in stock.

Oh, and Erin, I have made that Chicken and Mango Stir-Fry recipe several times. It's delicious, and really worth searching out Thai basil (although the regular, Italian-type works well). And the suggestion to add soy sauce (I use low-sodium) is a very good one.


Re: Mangoes! - labradors - 05-01-2011

Quote:

The Ataulfos (we called them Phillippine mangoes in Cuba) can be hard to cut off the pit in neat chunks as they tend to be more pulpy and stringier. You also have to be careful peeling them as you can easily take some of the pulp with the peel.




Are we talking about the same thing? I just used a bunch of Ataulfo mangoes and they were SO much easier to use than the reddish, Tommy Atkins variety. The superior flavour and absolute LACK of stringiness were the reasons I decided to research more information about them and those qualities were unanimously echoed by all of the sources I checked, for example:
Quote:

Tasting an Ataulfo mango for the first time often elicits the response, "That's a mango? What is that crap I've been getting from the grocery store?"

The answer is Tommy Atkins, that green-and-red monstrosity polluting market shelves like off-season Christmas fruit cake. Owing to its durability, disease-resistance and long shelf life, the Tommy Atkins is the most common mango sold in regions like ours, where sturdiness during long-distance importation is a huge concern for retailers. Unfortunately, the Tommy Atkins is also tart and fibrous, containing a quagmire of stringy flesh determined to embed itself in our teeth.

If Tommy Atkins is the cheap chocolate of mangoes, then the Ataulfo, often billed as young, baby, yellow, or honey manilla, is closer to ganache-filled truffles. ... The juicy flesh inside is yellowy-orange, creamy smooth, free of fibrous stringiness (which can set off the allergies of people sensitive to stone fruits) and, basically, the best thing to have fallen out of a tree since the apple observed by Isaac Newton.

Their flavour resembles the love child of peach, banana, pineapple and butter.


(Source: http://www.thestar.com/living/article/427903)

Quote:

Ataulfo mangos are golden yellow and generally weigh between 6 and 10 ounces, with a somewhat sigmoid (oblong) shape and a gold-blushed yellow skin. Their buttery flesh is not fibrous, and they have a thin pit.


(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataulfo_%28mango%29)

Quote:

Ataulfo Mangos are in a class by themselves. Sometimes referred to as Champagne®, Honey Mangos or Manila Mangos, they boast a delicious flavor and a string-less interior that melts in your mouth.


(Source: http://www.johnvenaproduce.com/products/ataulfo-mango)


Re: Mangoes! - Cubangirl - 05-02-2011

Labs, maybe stringier was a bad choice of words. The ones I've had do not slice into neat cubes. To me they are the best eating mango ever. But I've had super sweet juicy big ones as well, especially in FL and they are easier to slice and cut neatly. As I said, having had several varieties over the years, I find the big ones, if allowed to ripen correctly are great for cooking. Similar to using Granny Smiths for baking and desserts and Fujis or Honey Crisp apples for eating. I love mango salsas especially with fish dishes.
Gotta love RecipeFox, I just used it to copy the recipe above into Living Cookbook with just one click using this link .
BTW, our Loews has Thai Basil plants for about $3, worth buying if you can't readily find it at the store and growing your own. I love Thai Basil.


Re: Mangoes! - labradors - 05-02-2011

Granted, the bigger ones will, naturally, allow for larger dice, but maybe it was the way I cut it that made the difference for me. Instead of the usual methods one sees, of cutting a big, hemispherical chunk off the mango, cutting row and column lines into the flesh while it's still in the skin and then pushing that apart, I peel the Ataulfo mangos as one would peel an apple (but in vertical slices, not the spiral some would use for apples). Then, I make a series of vertical slices, going all the way around the mango. After that, I make a series of horizontal slices that go all the way around. From there, I slice along the pit, as closely as possible, to remove the dice from the pit. With the Tommy Atkins mangoes, that technique would send the mango flying - squirting out of your hand, but the Ataulfo mangoes were much easier to handle and I got some really nice dice from them (although, of course, they were not as big as the dice one would get from a larger mango).


Re: Mangoes! - Cubangirl - 05-02-2011

The mango never goes flying for me since I use the ice pick to hold it.