Mangos

We love Mangos, and we are so lucky to have so many big healthy mango trees on the property. If we could reach all of them we could probably have thousands of them to eat.

Brad loves Mango

We’ve even figured out a pretty easy way to eat them. Instead of the labour intensive process of peeling the mango, then making slices until you get to the seed. Just cut it in half, and eat it with a spoon, just like you do with a honeydew melon.

We are really looking forward to having mango smoothies every morning!

Here are some mango facts…

The trees begin to produce fruit four to six years after planting and continue bearing fruit for about 40 years. To set fruit and produce a successful crop, the trees require tropical areas with defined seasons and a hot dry period typical of India and Southeast Asia where there are monsoon seasons followed by dry seasons. Before the fruit is formed, the trees blossom with tiny, delicate pinkish white flowers. Clusters of mangoes grow from long stems attached to the main branches with each tree producing an average of 100 fruits each year.

With successful cultivation of mangoes throughout the world today, over 1,000 different varieties have been developed with fruits that vary in size from 2″ (5 cm) to 10″ (25 cm) in length and weigh from 4 oz. (100 g) to 4.5 lbs. (2 kg). The color of the mango’s thin, inedible skin varies considerably, depending on variety, from all yellow, red on one side and green on the other, all green with a touch of color, to others that may be quite colorful with areas of red, green, and yellow. Shapes vary from round to oval to elongated, but most of the mangoes that appear in the supermarkets are generally oval and flat sided.

The seed within the mango is unlike any other in the fruit kingdom. It is long, almost the entire length of the mango, and wide, almost the entire width of the fruit. The seed is almost flat in depth and offers a plump, fleshy area of fruit on both flat sides. The seed has fibrous matter clinging to it, but the fruit itself has an intense yellow-orange colored flesh that is creamy, smooth and silky with a sweet, yet tangy flavor. It was in Moghul India in the sixteenth century that a special technique was developed for propagating mango vegetatively, a method that employs grafting. Mangos do not grow true from seed but revert back to the highly fibrous fruit that tastes like turpentine.

Typical mango season is from May through September when prices are fairly attractive, with the peak during July and August. With the ease of importing and exporting fruits, mangoes are available throughout the year if one doesn’t mind spending the extra dollars when they are out of season.

Health Benefits
Revered not only for their exotic sweetness and juicy quality, mangoes are known for their many health blessings. They contain an enzyme similar to papain in papayas, a soothing digestive aid. These proteolytic enzymes that break down proteins are effective meat tenderizers regularly used in tropical countries where mangoes are grown. The enzyme list continues with magneferin, katechol oxidase, and lactase that not only protect the mango from insects, but help humans by stimulating metabolism and purifying the intestinal tract.

Studies have shown that foods containing phenolic compounds have powerful antioxidant, anticancer, and anticardiovascular abilities. Mangoes possess the phenols quercetin, isoquercitfin, astragalin, fisetin, gallic acid, and methylgallat.

In India mangoes are used as blood builders. Because of their high iron content they are suggested for treatment of anemia and are beneficial to women during pregnancy and menstruation. People who suffer from muscle cramps, stress, and heart problems can benefit from the high potassium and magnesium content that also helps those with acidosis.

One lab test turned up rather startling results that raised mangoes to the “highest perch.” Mango juice was poured into a test tube that contained viruses. Shortly, the viruses were destroyed.

Nutritional Benefits
One medium mango, about 10 1/2 oz., is a mighty impressive, self-contained package of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants that only packs 135 calories. Like most fruits, the mango is low in protein, about 1 gram for a medium size, but you can certainly benefit from its 3.7 grams of fiber.

Being of the plant kingdom, mangoes contain no cholesterol or saturated fat and contain only about .6 grams of total fat. Their sodium content ranks low at 4 mg.

Mango is a shining star in the beta carotene realm, summing up at 8061 IU for that same medium size. If you’re looking for a boost in potassium, look no further than a medium mango with its 322.92 mg. It’s the perfect fruit to replenish energy after heavy physical exercise like jogging or working out. Magnesium content is 18.63 mg.

Mango scores 57.3 mg of vitamin C and offers impressive numbers for vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6. There’s even a touch of zinc in our featured fruit, with calcium at 20.7 mg. and iron at .27 mg.

Although these figures will vary with the different varieties and different sizes, there is little doubt that the mango is an exceptional fruit, not only for its high-ranking nutrients, but also for its intense, zesty and delightful flavor that just may taste like paradise itself.

source: http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch37.html