Indian Mangoes

[The Hersch]

Have the much-anticipated Indian mangoes turned up in any local markets? If no sightings, rumors? Leads?

[Anna Blume]

Here's an article in The LA Times this week ("Mango Mania" on June 6).

Will Whole Foods be carrying them?

Any stores out in Rockville or the other suburbs?

[AlliK]

Not for purchase to take home, but I did have some as a dessert special at Rasika a few weeks back. It was so delicious - much more complex flavor (floral, herbal?) than standard mango.

[baczkowski]

Any stores out in Rockville or the other suburbs?

This is probably pretty useless, but the Frederick Indian specialty stores have been telling their customers that Costco got the exclusive distribution contract and have been sending people there, but no one has spotted anything other than Mexican mangos.

Pax,

Brian

[zoramargolis]

I know it's not the same thing, but I bought canned alphonso mangoe slices at Halalco today, imported from India.

[Hannah]

The Dulles Wegman's has a large display of them, just inside the main door.

[ol_ironstomach]

The Dulles Wegman's has a large display of them, just inside the main door.

Thanks for the tip! They're priced at $4.99 each, and the produce code tags indicate that they were imported by Melissa's, in California. They were ripe or very close to it.

A grocer was cutting nibble-sized samples in the produce section. The texture is excellent, with no fibrousness. The flavor is amazing...there's almost another layer to it, compared to the previous best mango I've had here. These would be awesome with Thai sticky rice.

Size isn't as bad as I'd feared...they're small-ish, but larger than a lot of Ataulfo's. Five bucks is excessively dear for one mango, but this early in their legal importation, I imagine this is sort of how the Europeans felt about the prices of peppercorns during the middle ages.

[MeMc]

Thanks for the tip! They're priced at $4.99 each, and the produce code tags indicate that they were imported by Melissa's, in California. They were ripe or very close to it.

A grocer was cutting nibble-sized samples in the produce section. The texture is excellent, with no fibrousness. The flavor is amazing...there's almost another layer to it, compared to the previous best mango I've had here. These would be awesome with Thai sticky rice.

Size isn't as bad as I'd feared...they're small-ish, but larger than a lot of Ataulfo's. Five bucks is excessively dear for one mango, but this early in their legal importation, I imagine this is sort of how the Europeans felt about the prices of peppercorns during the middle ages.

Jason Perlow has an interesting post on how to track down Indian mangoes here. . . .He notes that a box of 10 mangoes are going for about $40 . .

[yassandhu]

AllWorld Groceries in Vienna (on the left side of 123/Maple when you enter from Tysons.) $32 a case.

First impressions -- a bit uneven in the case. They all feel and smell equally ripe, but range from super tart and yellow to juicy sweet and bright orange. Normally I can spot a good mango to slice open, but these are proving a bit more frustrating. I'm planning on holding off on eating these for a few days to see what happens. I do have to say that the one ripe mango I did manage to find was definitely worth all of the hype.

In case anyone was curious, the mangoes were individually packaged on June 10th, shipped out on the 11th, flew via British Air (of course!) and were in the stores by at least June 14th (when I purchased my case) if not sooner. These mangoes are definitely being treated very well during transit (better than I probably ever have when making the same journey.)

[Pete]

I spotted 2 different brands of Indian Mangoes at the Fairfax Wegman's. One area had them for $3.99/pound. Another location had them 2 for $4.99 (I think that these were the ones with the Melissa's label). Picked one up, but haven't tried it yet.

[xcanuck]

This NPR article may be of interest to some.

[comestibles]

Have the much-anticipated Indian mangoes turned up in any local markets? If no sightings, rumors? Leads?

I just got a couple at Patel Brothers in Rockville. They are not Alphonsos; they are Kesars and rather small, about the size of Ataulfos. Probably available at other Indian markets.

[ol_ironstomach]

I just got a couple at Patel Brothers in Rockville. They are not Alphonsos; they are Kesars and rather small, about the size of Ataulfos. Probably available at other Indian markets.

FWIW, some Indian friends of mine have opined that of the two, the Kesars being sold in the US market are generally preferable to the Alphonsos. The problem is that the Alphonso's luxury reputation is so strong that nearly all of the highest-grade fruit is now exported to Middle Eastern countries, and has become difficult to obtain even in India. What we get are good, but not the best. The Kesar, being less well-known, is generally available in better grades.

Hearsay disclaimers apply.

[Tweaked]

During my recent trip to India we bought mind-blowing good mangos at the market in Mysore, I think we bought a dozen for about $2. even the grocery stores in Bangalore carried 4 or 5 different varities of mangoes. sigh.