Fruit

Mango

Mango (Mangifera indica and related species) is a large tropical drupe with fibrous or buttery flesh ranging from pale yellow to deep orange around a flat central stone. Ripe fruit smells resinous-sweet at the stem; flavour spans peach, melon, turpentine-tinged green notes in unripe types, and pure honeyed tropical sweetness in dessert cultivars such as Alphonso, Kent, Keitt, and Tommy Atkins. Fibrous types suit juice and cooking; non-fibrous types excel for slicing and eating fresh. Unripe green mango is grated into salads, pickles, and chutneys across South and Southeast Asia; ripe mango goes into lassi, sticky rice, salsas, ice cream, and dried strips. India remains the historic heartland and a major producer; Mexico, Thailand, Brazil, and others feed export. Flesh browns when cut; chill ripe fruit briefly to hold, but prolonged cold damages unripe mangoes.