Mangoes: The time is ripe

Mmmmmm…. Mango is best eaten when it is bursting with ripeness, held between the hands, while savoring the last bit of flesh off its pit, and never mind if the sticky juice gets smeared all over one’s face. To eat a mango is to relive the carefree summers of a Filipino childhood spent in the countryside. A permanent fixture of the sultry, sun-kissed Philippine summer, its array of scents, textures and tastes titillates the senses like no other fruit.

Mangoes have come a long way from just being eaten as is. It is dried, pickled, pureed or distilled into a rum liqueur for commercial use. Or whipped into some delectable dessert – baked, flambéed or frozen. It is concocted into thirst-quenching drinks, shakes or smoothies. The green and ripe ones have become standard fare in bars and restaurants. It is lovingly preserved into marmalade or chutney; or for the more adventurous palate, it is stewed or stir-fried with meat. Chopped, scooped or sliced, it is mixed with an incredible variety of condiments for an endless variety of salads and sawsawan (sauces). It is dunked in the ordinary sinigang, perking it up for that added tang, or rolled with prosciutto or the more popular California sushi roll. And, of course, knowing the Pinoy penchant for eating fresh fruits with salt (make that rock salt, please), the green mango is sometimes dipped in soy sauce, patis or bagoong. (Want to try something sinful? Sauté the shrimp bagoong with bacon and lots of garlic!)

It comes in several varieties, from the miniature paho, the medium-sized ovate carabao, the elongated king, to the fat and hefty Cambodian strain. Its colors bedazzle the eye with hues of green to velvety blue, orangey-pink blushed with a deep purplish red, and when ripe, pale primrose to a vivid canary yellow. Its texture changes with varying degrees of ripeness: Crisp as a cool cucumber or buttery and supple as a ripe peach. The elusive taste ranges from very sour, a bit pungent and a bit bitter, to the very sweet, or sometimes all of the above – or at once full of unexpected undertones, with a strange perfume reminiscent of turpentine.

The once common mango – nowadays it’s just as costly as most imported fruits – has finally ripened to a golden age. Its versatility has undisputedly placed it in the gastronomic and culinary hall of fame. Our Philippine mango now ranks among the world’s best comestibles, like Japanese pears, Washington apples and Valencia oranges. In fact, it’s so famous that some unscrupulous dealers in the US West Coast have been reported to pass on Mexican mangoes as Manila mangoes to bring up sales. Truly, had the Garden of Eden been set in the tropics, the mango would have been the forbidden fruit Adam had succumbed to.

Here are some mango recipes:

Putat Mangga

(A traditional Pampango salad)

a bunch of young mango leaves, washed, drained and chopped

some tomatoes, cut into wedges

some white onions, chopped

bagoong alamang, to taste

* * * Mango Jam

Here’s what you can do with extra and overripe mangoes.

Peel the fruits and grate the pulp from seed. In a heavy cooking pot (except aluminum), simmer in low heat, stirring constantly. Introduce 1 cup white sugar in small amounts and continue cooking until thick in consistency.

* * * Uva-Style Suman At Mangga

My good friend Fernando Aracama, chef patron of Uva restaurant, writes, "In Bacolod, where I am from, suman sa ibos, or just ibos, is always served with mangoes, if there is money, and only with sugar, if wala. It is usually served for breakfast or merienda. If there are leftovers, my Mama fries the suman in oil giving it a thick crunchy skin and a gooey warm center. I always loved this treat."

Coming up with this updated version for Uva, I added the latik part to give it that extra gooey-ness and mouth feel. I’m a muscovado freak, eating solid muscovado balls from the jar where it is often stored. I had to put it on the plate, but at the same time I needed to foil the sweetness of the sugar. Since the mangoes were a shoo-in as it is the traditional partner of suman, I came up with salabat or ginger ice cream: Cold and spicy at the same time. This is what Clinton Palanca once described as a "cymbal crash" ending to a dinner menu I once cooked. It’s actually an awesome plate to try.

For four:

4 pcs. ripe mangoes, peeled and cubed

4 scoops salabat ice cream

4 pcs. suman sa ibos, peeled

1 pc. whole egg, lightly beaten

1 cup bread crumbs

1 cup vegetable oil for deep frying

For the latik:

3 cups thick coconut milk, combine first and second extractions

1-1/2 cups muscovado sugar

1 pc. star anise

Dip the peeled suman sa ibos in the beaten egg, then into the bread crumbs. Chill for 10 minutes in the freezer to ensure that the coating will not fall off.

Deep-fry the coated suman in hot oil until nicely browned. Drain off excess oil by blotting with paper napkins. Slice each suman in half; you will have a total of 8 slices of suman. Keep warm.

For the latik: In a frying pan, boil over medium heat the coconut milk, muscovado sugar and star anise while constantly stirring it. When mixture has thickened, turn off fire and keep warm until needed.

To serve: Allot two halves of suman per plate. Pour some latik over the suman, scatter the ripe mango cubes around the plate and top with a scoop of ice cream.

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Simply the best there is: The late Doreen Fernandez never failed to come out in her weekly food column with an annual tribute to the sweetest mangoes in the land, the Batungbakal mangoes from Zambales, which are available this year from May 8 to June 15. They are sold according to size: Jumbo at P100 per kilo; extra-large, P90; large, P60; medium, P50; and, regular, P40. They are sold in five- and 10- kilogram boxes.

For inquiries and reservations, they are available at the following outlets: In the Alabang area, call Mrs. Curing Tablante at 850-9284 and 842-6837; in the Merville Park area, Cherry Layug at 888-0370 and 824-9674; in the Valle Verde area, Mrs. Mely at 631-0698 and 631-0696; in the White Plains and Xavierville areas, Grace Cobankiat at 920-7192 and 0918-9106527; in the Makati area, Rita Arenas at 840-5764; in the Greenhills and San Juan areas, Gretchen Consunji at 563-9280; in the Pandacan and Manila areas, Grace at 563-9280; and in the Quezon City area, Aileen at 714-7935 and 716-6178.