THE mango is said to be one of the most commonly-eaten fresh fruits in the world. Native to southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India, the mango spread early on to Malaya, eastern Asia and eastern Africa. Long before mangos were grown all over the tropics, however, everyone who tasted them and wrote about them agreed that mangos where the world’s most delicious fruit. Its peach-like juicy flesh with a hint of pineapple is packed with Vitamin A and C and also beta-carotene.

The name of the fruit comes from the Tamil word “mangaai” or the Malayalam word “manga.” The fruit itself was spread by the Portuguese after their Indian explorations, hence the word “manga” in Portuguese.

Ripe mangos are extremely popular throughout Latin America. In Mexico, sliced mango is eaten with chili powder and salt. Street vendors sometimes sell whole mangos on a stick, dipped in the chili-salt mixture. In Indonesia, green mango with sugar, salt and chili is sold by street vendors. In Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Honduras, small, green mangos are popular; they have a sharp, brisk flavor like a Granny Smith apple. Street vendors sell slices of peeled green mango, often with salt. In India, ripe mango is often cut into thin layers, dried, folded, cut and then sold as bars that are very tasty and chewy. In the Philippines, unripe mango is eaten with bagoong, fermented shrimp paste which comes in sweet, salty and spicy flavors. Dried strips of sweet, ripe mango have also gained popularity both inside and outside the country with those produced in Cebu found in export markets around the world.

There are many recipes which include mangos but they make the finest of desserts! With this spectacular glory of a fruit, it is best to do as little as you possibly can: Mix them with whipped cream to make a ful, or mash the pulp and serve in little tartlets cases baked blind. You can also fold pieces of fruit into a rich, vanilla ice cream or place them in a blender with or without milk, a little sugar and crushed ice for a refreshing beverage.

A more traditional Indian drink is mango lassi, which is similar but uses a mixture of milk and yoghurt as the base. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavored with coconut then served with sliced mango on top as a dessert.

The great problem with mangos is parting the soft ripe flesh from the flat stone. One way is to stand the mango upright, narrow side towards you. The idea is to isolate the stone by making downwards cuts on either side of it. This way you will find that two neat halves fall to left and right, leaving you with a central slice that contains the stone. Peel off the skin from this slice and scrape what pulp you can into the neat halves. Then suck the stone, chewing what you can from the fibrous threads that beard it.

I have found that the easiest way to eat a mango is to slice round the middle or round the edge like an avocado. Then twist the two halves in opposite directions, until they come apart and remove the stone. Now you are ready to enjoy your mango: just scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon. Is it messy? Yes! Is it worth it? Definitely! The best way to savor a mango as some have humorously suggested is to eat it in a bath!

Egypt is one of the world’s principal mango producers. Egyptian mangos are mainly derived from Indian varieties. and were first introduced by Mohamed Ali Pasha who planted the first ones in 1825. The first mango tree was planted in what is today the garden of the Faculty of Agriculture at Ain Shams University. Ironically, it was originally regarded as an ornamental rather than a fruit tree.

Some varieties of mangos are exceptionally beautiful to look at — the rose-tinted Al-Khad Al-Gamil, (the beautiful cheek) and Sobaa Al-Sitt (the lady’s finger). Each variety is used for a different purpose: Like the Zebda mango (butter) is ideal for making juices. The most popular Egyptian varieties besides Zebda are Sukkary, Owaiss and Taymuri. With its spectacular colors ranging from emerald green to bright orange, canary yellow and shocking pink and scarlet, the mango is the reigning king among Egyptian fruits and a sweet summer’s delight!

One easy and delicious mango dessert is mango ful. All you need is to mash the mango flesh with some vanilla sugar. Wisk whipping cream until very thick but not stiff and fold into the mango mash. Taste and adjust flavors. Scoop into individual bowls and served chilled with thin shortbread biscuits or sponge finger biscuits. The quantity of fruit to cream can be equal in volume or less cream to fruit according to your taste.