# The problem with mangos **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332 "2008-08-08T20:34:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/21 "2008-08-09T03:03:19Z")
**acsenray** , I have to say that the mangoes I had in the Philippines had an amazingly rich and complex taste that I have never encountered in any mango I’ve had in the US. Don’t get me wrong. A ripe mango, of any ilk, is a thing of beauty and a joy as long as it lasts. But nothing compares to the mangoes I had in Manila. (Mangoes in Manila…not a band name, but maybe a code phrase.) ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/22 "2008-08-09T03:44:14Z")
If your mango is like cucumber in any way, shape or form then you’ve either got a very underripe mango. Or a cucumber. There’s been a lack of good Mangoes down here in our supermarkets the last few seasons. Hopefully this year might be better. ---
**Author:** ![DellieM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@DellieM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DellieM)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/23 "2008-08-09T04:39:57Z")
Mangoes are a tool of Satan. Nothing like mango to spoil fruit cup cordial or orange juice or anything else it comes into contact with . The taste is foul, I’m convinced God hadn’t finished with it and like a project that’s no longer fun, decided “Bugger it, it’s close enough”. I had a houseguest who once cut up a mango to make some revolting prawn and mango evil manifestation of questionable taste, and I threw the cutting board out, convinced I could still smell mango on it after several washes and being doused in boiling water. Mango - the fruit of unadulterated pure evil. But I be hearing some folks like eatin’ 'em. ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/24 "2008-08-09T04:45:18Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] My son does a chicken dish in an apple cream sauce over pasta. I’m pretty sure there’s a version of it that has mango in it. It’s to die for. [/QUOTE] …this post here is proof that I shouldn’t read the Dope while zonked out on pain medication. I could have sworn that said your son does a chicken _dance_ in an apple cream sauce over pasta. Back on topic, I adore good mangoes, but I’m sadly allergic to them. Sometimes I’ll risk it anyway, which makes it doubly unpleasant when I end up with a mango that is not, in fact, a good one. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/25 "2008-08-09T05:23:37Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] **The Problem With Mangos** [/QUOTE] I want to see a movie with that title. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/26 "2008-08-09T12:00:45Z")
First wasabi, now mangoes. Is nothing I eat in the States the real thing? ☹ I need to travel more. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/27 "2008-08-09T14:32:51Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] (I’m talking real mangos, not bell peppers.) [/QUOTE] I had no idea what you were talking about here, until I did a [web search](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum). Apparently, Midwesterners used to call sweet bell peppers “mangoes”, for some odd reason. Anyhow, I agree that if your mangoes taste like cucumbers, then you’re buying either the wrong mangoes or the wrong cucumbers. I recommend trying the Manila or Kent varieties (which are commonly available). You may be able to get one of the Indian varieties, like Alphonso, from an Indian grocer (although they are only available in April and May, and are expensive). [This](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/dining/02mang.html?ex=1342324800&en=cfaa0f75c2f31311&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink) article from the New York Times mentions that some Mexican growers have planted Alphonsos, so perhaps they will be more easily available in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/28 "2008-08-09T19:29:57Z")
I’ve had some mangoes that I thought had a slight carrotty taste. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/29 "2008-08-09T20:07:23Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] When you try to get a mango here in the United States, however, you usually have to settle for a mango from Mexico … … which taste nothing like mango! They taste like cucumbers. [/QUOTE] Dude . . . it’s been said but it’s worth repeating: you ate a cucumber. I’ve had a lot of varieties of mangoes and they taste like a lot of different things, but none of them have ever come remotely close to the taste or texture of a cucumber. Not. Remotely. Close. One taste that I find very distinct in mangoes that most people don’t notice until I point it out (and then they agree) is pine. Funny story: Awhile back I was eating a champagne mango and my dog (a little white pomapoo) was going uncharacteristically nuts for it. Whining, yipping, hopping up towards it. I kept saying, you don’t like this, you don’t like this. Finally my wife said, how do you know she doesn’t like it? Well, she doesn’t like apples, oranges, bananas, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, or any other fruit I’ve ever tried to give her. But she kept going crazy. I didn’t want to encourage her begging so I snuck off into the other room, dropped a couple of chunks in her bowl, waited a few minutes, and then called her. She INHALED it. Shocked, I told my wife, who said “she has champagne taste on a dog food budget.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/30 "2008-08-09T22:12:09Z")
Ok, investigating [this taxonomy](http://www.mango.org/about/varieties.php) it appears that I grew up with the Haden, Tommy Atkins or Kent variety, and the Ataulfo ones float my boat the least. Now let’s diss papayas. . . ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/31 "2008-08-09T22:30:35Z")
Mangoes were never high on my list until the Ms came up with her version of mango salsa, made with black beans, cilantro, cumin and rice wine vinegar. Holy crap, is that stuff good! Now, I understand that I’ve combined at least two and possibly three ingredients here that make some people hurk, so don’t start in on me, okay? ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/32 "2008-08-10T13:12:02Z")
We usually get our mangoes off the neighbour’s mango tree :). I once had a bad reaction to something (broke out in hives) and the doctor thought it was probably a reaction to manoes, he said it is quite common. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/33 "2008-08-10T15:31:27Z")
[QUOTE=emilyforce] I love you all, but please, it’s \ ***mangoes** \*(not \*mangos [/QUOTE] Don’t be [so sure](http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mango): > [@](#): > > mango (plural mangoes or mangos) [QUOTE=Cisco] Dude . . . it’s been said but it’s worth repeating: you ate a cucumber. I’ve had a lot of varieties of mangoes and they taste like a lot of different things, but none of them have ever come remotely close to the taste or texture of a cucumber. Not. Remotely. Close. [/QUOTE] Nope. They were definitely mangos. And it has happened on more than one occasion. Additionally, the mango fruit smoothies down at the smoothie shop also taste like cucumber rather than mango. And I know they’re not putting cucumbers in it. I know what mangos taste like and I know what cucumbers taste like, and these mangos around here are definitely tasting like cucumbers. I’ve resorted to the canned mango slices from the Indian grocery for something closer to actual mango flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/34 "2008-08-10T17:29:44Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] Nope. They were definitely mangos. And it has happened on more than one occasion. Additionally, the mango fruit smoothies down at the smoothie shop also taste like cucumber rather than mango. And I know they’re not putting cucumbers in it. I know what mangos taste like and I know what cucumbers taste like, and these mangos around here are definitely tasting like cucumbers. I’ve resorted to the canned mango slices from the Indian grocery for something closer to actual mango flavor. [/QUOTE] Were they dong-shaped, dark green on the outside, light green on the inside, with lots of little tiny seeds in them? Did they look kind of like unpickled pickles? How sure are you they were from Mexico? Because (note my location), all the mangoes I get are from Mexico or Arizona, and I eat a lot of them, and they don’t taste like cucumber. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/35 "2008-08-10T17:36:51Z")
I’ve got a mango tree in the back yard. When it is in season I have mangoes coming out the ying yang. I can’t give them away fast enough because everyone at work and church are trying to give me their mangoes. I guess after years of eating them until I’m sick of them, I’m not crazy about the taste. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t good either. Not nearly as sweet as a canteloupe or a watermelon. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/36 "2008-08-10T18:42:25Z")
[QUOTE=jtgain] I’ve got a mango tree in the back yard. When it is in season I have mangoes coming out the ying yang. I can’t give them away fast enough because everyone at work and church are trying to give me their mangoes. [/QUOTE] /makes note to visit jtgain’s house with a couple of burlap sacks and a hand truck/ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/37 "2008-08-10T20:38:39Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Were they dong-shaped, dark green on the outside, light green on the inside, with lots of little tiny seeds in them? Did they look kind of like unpickled pickles? [/quote] This is GQ, so I can’t offer the response that this comment deserves. > [@](#): > > How sure are you they were from Mexico? They were labeled as being from Mexico. [QUOTE=jtgain] Not nearly as sweet as a canteloupe or a watermelon. [/QUOTE] In that case, you’ve got the phoney ones. A proper mango is about five times as sweet as any other fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/38 "2008-08-10T21:04:04Z")
[QUOTE=acsenray] This is GQ, so I can’t offer the response that this comment deserves. [/QUOTE] What? You want to flip out over a joke? Remind me never to invite you to a party, hair trigger . . . jeez . . . and this is IMHO by the way . . . ::steps away from the tightly wound guy _very slowly_:: ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332/39 "2008-08-11T21:21:35Z")
I’ve never had a mango that tasted like a cucumber. I’ve had underripe ones, which, despite being deceptively rosy on the outside, were bland or crisp or otherwise disappointing. A proper mango is deep, deep orange inside, and tastes a little like a ripe, sweet peach with undertones of pine, vanilla and coconut. If a mango of this description survives being devoured instantly out of hand, it’ll get made into a mango and roasted habanero salsa in our house. Mango salsa is terrific with seared tuna and Japanese rice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-problem-with-mangos/459332.md?page=1)