Dump heaps and plant domestication

One of the well known hypotheses about plant domestication (Edgar Anderson) dealt with the idea that nomadic camps had dump heaps, places where inedible things got pitched.  Reuse of camps would bring these people back after some time and discover that seeds had sprouted and grown leading to the idea and practice of purposefully growing things.  Sure, maybe, but nomadic people probably already know how plants grow, but they see no need to plant what they can find in the wild reliably.  While throwing apple peels on our own dump/compost heap this AM, TPP noticed a nice looking seedling emerging along the edge and an examination determined that it was a mango seedling from some discarded pit.  Well, it  will not grow here in the upper Midwest, and it is a member of the poison ivy family, so TPP will deal with the leaves carefully.  Sure is a cutie though.

Big Mango

Somehow, somewhere, a story came to TPP's attention about the Big Mango, a roadside attraction outside of Bowen, Australia. Bowen is also the name of a popular variety of mango; it isn't a coincidence. Perhaps what registered was another roadside attraction some 50 km or so north of Townsville, the Frosty Mango.  You haven't lived until you've had their black sapote ice cream.TPP has also seen the biggest tamarind pod in Thailand. And the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD to complete all of the roadside, out-sized fruits he can think of. Funniest thing is that somebody once stole the big mango.  Really? Shy would you, and where do you hide such a thing? Not that stealing a few mangos is above this author (the flying foxes were rather disturbed), but the big mango, that doesn't make sense. Any other big fruit attractions TPP needs on his bucket list?

Cashew nut - the human cost

TPP has been in southern India twice.  In this region the cashew is an important crop, but you can't buy any in the local markets; cashews are too valuable as a cash crop export, one of India's 4 top agricultural commodities(the others being tea, spices, and basmati rice). Here in North America and in Europe the cashew is a much favored nut.  Just watch and see how many people pick out the distinctive nut from a bowl of mixed nuts.  At this great distance it is hard to know about the human misery caused by this crop.  First, the cashew is a funny looking fruit; it looks like the seed is outside the fruit handing below the seedless "cashew apple".  The fleshy accessory fruit is very tasty, sort of like a mango to which it is related, but they are soft and not exported or shipped to temperate markets.  The asymmetrical "seed" is actually the whole fruit, a sort of hard drupe with a leathery outer layer and a hard inner layer, a "shell", surrounding the cashew embryo which is what you eat.  This is  where the hard, hand-labor part comes in, de-shelling the "nut".  Now here's the other thing to understand.  Cashews are in the Anacardiaceae, the sumac family.  So did you think poison-ivy?  Mangos are also in this family, a fleshier drupe, but the pitted seed still has the same asymmetrical shape. The sap that oozes from the fruit stalk gives TPP the same itchy rash as contact with poison ivy.  The women who crack the cashew pits to release the nut suffer from the continual occupational exposure to these toxic oleoresins, and for near starvation wages.  Why hasn't someone invented a shelling machine, something like the "crackers" used for pecans and walnuts in the USA?  The answer is that India has so much cheap labor available there is no demand for a machine that would put thousands out of work. Yet boycotting cashews won't do much good.  Middle men make the most money, but if demand for cashews drops, then near starvation becomes starvation.  So far there doesn't seem to be any "fair trade" cashews, and it TPP is wrong about this, please let us all know. 

The best mango?

TPP is blogging while eating some lunch and being careful not to spill soup into the keyboard, again.  But the best part of today's is an ataulfo mango.  These are simply the best mango we get in our markets, period.  There are of course a lot of different mangoes, and TPP is no expert, but among the dozen or so varieties that he has sampled, mostly in the tropics, the ataulfo is simply the best.  The fruit is a bit longer and narrower, sort of kidney shaped, and with a thinner pit than the usual varieties you see in North America, at least in the more civilized parts that get mangoes in their markets.  They turn a nice lemony yellow when ripe, but mangoes are at their best just under ripe when the flesh gives ever so slightly when given a firm squeeze.  The flesh is virtually non-fibrous right down to the pit and it has a very smooth texture.  The taste is sublime, a robust, sweet-tart tropical mango fruitiness you just don't get from any other fruit.  If you've never ever tried a mango from a market, and you see these, do give them a try.  They are TPP endorsed.  Hey, growers and marketers, you are welcome, and you can show your appreciation by arranging for TPP to get a regular supply. 

Would a mango by any other name taste as good?

No question the Phactor would not have gotten any further than "Bango", although put this misspelling together with the correct spelling, bango-mango, and you can sort of imagine a frou-frou tropical beverage with a little paper umbrella.  As someone who shops in all manner of ethnic markets, you do wonder about the labelling.  What fun to be able to unravel this!

Know your tropical fruit

Last night a chance encounter with the Food network program Unwrapped caught my interest because it was featuring passion fruit rose petal ice cream from Out of a Flower in Dallas TX. Anything with passion fruit in it is better than things without, a belief the Phactors came to have while living in the tropics where we rented a passion fruit vine that came with the apartment option. Well, let's just watch this a bit and see the goodness. So the fellow explains, "We start with fresh fruit." And the video shifts to hands peeling, wait for it, mangos. Then they show the mango being pureed and the rest of the whole thing, and not once, not for one second, did they show or work with a passion fruit. Now quite likely the mango rose petal ice cream is great, but passion fruit it ain't unless someone at the food network screwed the pooch and inserted the wrong footage. In a few weeks a trip will take us for far northern Queensland and about 70 km north of Townsville sits the Frosty Mango, the purveyor of some of the world's best tropical fruit ice creams, yes, including passion fruit, although people in the know say the black sapote ice cream is just magic.

Longing for the tropics - Mangoes

Here in the heartland of North America, mangoes remain a little known, novelty item, and truly, like many other exotic things, e.g., seafood, tropical fruits are best when consumed and enjoyed in the shade of the tree from which they were picked. Having traveled around the tropics a great deal, and having a professional interest in economically important plants, the Phactor has tried quite a long life list of tropical fruits. So speaking from considerable experience, the mango is one of the world's best fruits, succulent, juicy, and when just right, with a wonderful sweet-tart rich mango flavor. So naturally my interest was keen when "Ataulfo" mangoes showed up in a local market. It should not surprise you to encounter a variety of mango with which you are unfamiliar because, as the poster shows, there are hunderds of varieties and the only place in North America where you can get more than a handful is Fairchild Tropical Garden. Mangoes shipped to distant regions can be pretty good because they after ripen reasonably well. The flesh should just barely yield under the skin when at their prime, just like a peach, just slightly under ripe. The Ataulfos were just right, and at $6 a dozen, a bargain to boot. These were quite simply the best mango the Phactor has consumed outside of the tropics. The sweet-tart taste was superb, and this variety has a pleasantly firm, almost fiberless golden flesh, and a small flat pit. Wow! In terms of shape, size, and taste, this variety reminded me of the "Nam Doc Mai" mango of Thailand, and of course mangoes are of SE Asian origin so they have been cultivated there for thousands of years, so New World varieties all will have Asian ancestors. Unfortunately, mangoes go through their prime quickly, and an over ripe mango loses the tartness counterpoint, so 6 of my mangoes were transformed into mango sorbet. A double wow summer treat!