One of my favourite fruits is the mango. The first memories of my childhood have mangoes in a special place in my memory. The first mother's house I remember when I was very young was a house with a huge yard, which had several mango trees. I lived there until I was 8 years old, when my parents decided to move to the east of the country.
I remember when we got into the moving car, and as we drove away I could see from the car window when the children, neighbours of the place, went into the yard to cut down the mango trees. I have that childhood memory.
Then when we arrived in the east, in our new house there was also a yard, not as big as the one we had left behind, but with great joy, I saw an immense mango tree, it was only one tree, but it was enough to fill my heart with joy and erase some of the sadness that a move produces in the life of a small girl. These are memories that remain in my mind, I don't know if they are the product of nostalgia for a move or the fact of thinking about leaving the mango trees that I loved so much.
My mother, always dedicated to cooking, used to prepare all kinds of delicacies with the ripe mango fruit. She would make delicious ice creams and natural milkshakes with the pulp of ripe mangoes. But her speciality was the jams, either of green or ripe mangoes. The texture and consistency made the jam special. They could be cut with a knife. They were sour or sweet, it all depended on the fruit.
At my current house, we don't have mango trees, and I don't want to grow any seeds that have germinated in the yard. I pull them up when they germinate because my yard is small and the mango tree is very large and with thick roots that protrude from the surface of the ground, they raise cement constructions over the years when the tree is mature.
The mango when ripe I use in my kitchen as one of the ingredients for my salads. With lettuce, tomato, cucumber and mango, all chopped into small pieces and seasoned with olive oil, a touch of vinegar and salt. You have a great salad as an accompaniment to your main course.
If the mango is green, place it without the shell in boiling water, let the pulp soften for about half an hour. Take it out of the water and puree it when it is cold. Place the puree, which looks like a baby compote, in a blender, add a little onion, a green chilli pepper, a sprig of parsley, a clove of garlic, a dash of olive oil and salt. Blend all the ingredients until you obtain a homogeneous paste. It can be used to accompany a variety of foods and vegetables such as steamed potatoes or meat and fish. It looks like a guacamole and has an exquisite taste.
The mango is very common in all tropical areas of the world, and in Venezuela it is very popular throughout the country. The mango fruit is obtained from the mango tree. It is oval in shape. The pulp is very delicious and it is considered the king of the tropical fruits. It is a sweet and refreshing fruit when ripe, its pulp varies from yellow to orange. When consumed green it is acidic. I prefer it ripe for its easy consumption and digestion.
Among the curiosities of the mango I can tell you, according to what I could research about the fruit worldwide that it is considered the fruit of love in India, giving mango as a gift in India is a great sign of friendship, although let me say that in Venezuela if a person deserves mangoes, I consider him a great friend.
It is a fruit with great medicinal benefits, to tone the heart, liver, strengthens tissues and prevents premature ageing. Now that I know more about the benefits of mangoes, especially that they combat dryness and burning eyes due to their high vitamin A content when prepared as discussed, I will eat them with much more pleasure.
I hope that mango is also your favourite fruit.
In the comments you can tell me if it is not, you can also tell me: What is your favourite fruit?
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In the farm, which we have not visited since the pandemic started, we have two to three mango trees. They are what is called Indian mango variety - small, nearly round ones, which does not have to be ripe to be consumed fresh. There are three other mango varieties in our country, and can be distinguished based on their shape. I will find pictures and hopefully write about them. Philippine mangoes are said to be the sweetest, and there is one island that grows one of the sweetest. When buying mangoes especially when they are in season, we often ask which province the mango came from because they do differ.