Jan Norris: Food and Florida

Tommy Atkins mango - a common backyard variety in South Florida /photo by Jan Norris

Oh yeah – all the backyard mango trees are heavy with fruit around here. It’s a banner year for mangoes – all staying on the trees so far, and all over-producing.

Tommy Atkins, Keitt, Julie, Kent, Haden, Carrie, Van Dyke, Duncan and Palmer are widely grown varieties throughout South Florida.

In Palm Beach County, our own Zill and Hatcher mangoes are prized, named for tropical fruit growers whose families still are in business near Boynton Beach.

But there are literally hundreds of varieties of the popular fruit, with a huge number grown as speciments at Fairchild Gardens in Miami. Their annual International Mango Festival (July 14-15 this year) is a fun, informative, and tasty event.

Mango recipes and ideas

Need help with mango recipes? I’ve got ‘em by the treeload. Just follow the links to stories and recipes below.

But first things first: Want to know how to slice a mango? Watch and learn here: jannorris.com/ask-jan/slicing-a-mango-a-messy-proposition/

Mangoes in every course

Despite their sweet profiles, mangoes are as good in entrees as in desserts or salads. Grilled fish and mango salsa are married on the plate in many restaurants here; mango barbecue sauce slathered on pork ribs will show up in every rib contest.

Use them green (in pickles and pies or slaw) and ripe (jams, salads, salsas, roasted or baked).

They’re great sources of vitamins A and C, and are high in dietary fiber, as well – consider them a healthy food.

Here is a good mango barbecue sauce recipe – made with chipotles. Another mango grill sauce recipe is perfect for your ribs.

A way to serve vacationers visiting is with a mangoes-and-cream French toast – made as a overnight casserole and baked the next morning (just substitute mangoes for the peaches in this B&B recipe).

Green mango pickles are a treat with creamy cheeses on a cheese plate – something different for your summer cocktails.

Like chutney? Round up a few friends and make the “Big Batch Mango Chutney” that makes enough to sell at the greenmarket or church sale.

Drink your mangoes – in a classic mango lassi – an Indian smoothie of sorts.

How about a delicious slaw? The Ritz Carlton Palm Beach shared their recipe for a chayote and mango slaw. A chayote, or mirliton, is a type of squash.

A mango cocktail sauce was part of a whole meal set out in a competition from Johnny Vinczencz of Johnny V’s in Fort Lauderdale. Use it with shrimp, conch fritters, or on barbecued oysters.

Got recipes of your own to share? Leave a comment or email me through the Contact Me page and I’ll include them in another post – we’ll have mangoes for months.