Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

A couple of weeks ago, scores of mangos were blown off my trees during several thunder storms. The mangos were half as big as they would be at maturity and were two months from ripening on the tree.

It seemed like such a waste to dispose of so many, so I laid the undamaged, larger ones  on a rack to see if they would ripen enough to be edible.

Then, I had a glitch….

While waiting for the results, another storm produced a lightning strike that came in on the internet cable and took out my computer, printer and phone line. I was not able to put up a blog post for almost two weeks.

The computer and the printer have been replaced, and switching out several wires repaired the phone. So, I am back online and ready to share the results of the ‘Noble Experiment’.

Ripe, but…

The mangos did ripen and are edible. The taste varies from bland to tart, and everything in between, on a random basis. There doesn’t seem to be any pattern to what determines the taste, but the mango essence does come through. While they are not as good as tree-ripened mangos, these are good enough to satisfy a mango craving.

The only downside that I have found is that their size makes it labor intensive to slice and peel them. Also, because many of them are so small, it takes a whole lot more mangos to produce enough fruit.

Seed Issue

Unlike a ripe mango where the seeds are very hard, the seeds in these are very soft. The non-matured seed has a white skin that tends to get sliced against the flesh of the mango. The white skin must be removed from the flesh before eating… not difficult, just one more step.

Craving Satisfied Temporarily

I have been known to ‘taste’ as I go along, and I just can’t resist mangos. I’m lucky to get a container filled to chill for later.

The fruit of this ‘experiment’ may not taste quite as good as the mangos that will ripen on the tree in another month, but they taste as good as most of the ones I have purchased from a grocery store when they are out of season, and I have an intense craving… and these are pretty to look at, too!

Tags:   MangosNo Comments