It’s a Mangolicious Summer

The Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch celebrated Mango Fest on Saturday, June 22nd, by sharing their mango bounty.

Who doesn’t love mangos? Summer is tropical fruit season in Southwest Florida, and May starts off with the early mango cultivars. We used to have two trees in the backyard until Hurricane Irma brought them down. But a small shoot sprouted and is now a mature mango producing delicious fruits. The variety is unknown; most likely, it was planted from a grafted mango by the original owners of the property. Or it grew from a discarded seed, and I am lucky that it is the perfect tasting mango, fiber-less, floral, custardy, creamy, and bright yellow when ripe. 

Many backyard growers don’t know, nor do they care who the baby daddy or mommy was of their mango varieties, as each one has its unique flavor. Most of the varieties we enjoy were created by mango enthusiasts and experts who’ve dedicated their lives to giving us some of the most unique flavors in the mango world. 

One such expert is Gary Zill of Boynton Beach, Florida. He must have been a marketing guru from a prior profession, as he’s given us varieties with tropical names like Lemon Meringue, Pina Colada, Orange Sherbert, and Lemon Zest, just to name a few. An Orange Sherbert mango, with the consistency of a creamsicle, is perfect on a hot summer day.

Living in Southwest Florida, we all gravitate towards flavors with pineapple and coconut groups, and these mango flavors are too perfect to cut up for a recipe for mango salsa-topped fish tacos. With these unique flavors, we have lots of variations on creating fresh, sweet, and tangy salsas: just mix together lime juice, colorful diced veggies, fresh herbs, diced summer avocado, and mango slices.

But where can we find these unique-tasting mangos? We buy with our eyes, and at the supermarket, we find perfectly shaped and colored mangos. According to the USDA, Mexico was the leading mango supplier to the U.S. in 2023 at 419,930 metric tons, and the U.S. consumed more than 1.1 billion pounds of mangos in 2022.

Locally, check out your summer farmers market, where backyard growers might have a batch of the local harvest. You can also check out a fruit-tasting event where they will offer mango varieties along with seasonal-grown tropical fruits. And, of course, there is your neighborhood backyard grower. Most neighbors are more than willing to share a couple of fruits for tasting, but be aware that most mango trees are on private property, so as tempting as it may be, don’t pick without permission.

The history of how mango came to Florida is worth reading, and according to the History of Mango, published by Fairchild Garden, 200+ years ago, mangos arrived in Southwest Florida when the pirates came to Florida’s coasts and navigated the rough waters from Ft. Myers down to Sanibel and Captiva, south to Naples and to the Keys. The pirates carried mango seeds, and for generations, they germinated and grew well in Southwest Florida. Records also showed that some seeds were imported from Cuba. 

The mango tree is a very resilient tree – hurricanes and tropical storms aside. Mango season in Southwest Florida continues to amaze mango aficionados. It must be in their DNA that each year, these trees put forth their best-tasting fruits – and they seem to get better each year. 

On record, there are more than 2,000 varieties in the world, and we have just a smidgeon here locally. More varieties are being “created” in universities and laboratories all over the world. In backyards all over Southwest Florida, there is a mango expert crossing a good-tasting mango seed and hand-pollinating it from another mango variety. It might turn out to be a bestseller! Or a total disaster. This process takes about 10 to 12 years before you even get fruit - if you even get a fruit.

The possibilities are endless for a “mangolicious” experience.