Can you imagine a treat so sweet that you do not care that its juices are running down your chin? So delirious is the joy that mango lovers feel during mango season in Jamaica that their attitudes change for the better. They become positively magnanimous so long as you don’t touch the fruits that belong to them. If you do, it’s all-out war.
If you are lucky enough to have mango trees in your backyard, you won’t go hungry in Jamaica. The delicious, juicy fruit which ripens in time for the summer holidays is so alluring in taste that many Jamaicans leave ordinary eating habits to dine frequently on the fruit.
There are many varieties of mango and the true mango lover does not discriminate. Some of the favorites are the East Indian and St. Julian, otherwise called Julie. The Blackie, Bombay, Number Eleven, Robin, Longy, Stringy, and the common mango are some of the other popular ones grown in yards and sold in markets.
When mango season begins, yards in the country side are littered with ripe fruit fallen from the trees. In the towns where the trees are scarcer, very few are allowed to fall to the ground, but instead are picked, collected, and devoured as soon as they are judged to be ripe enough. Some types of mangoes are eaten when they are half ripe or “turn,” and are best enjoyed with the addition of salt and sometimes black pepper.
In Jamaica, mangoes are plentiful in the parishes of St. Thomas, Clarendon, St. Mary, and St. Elizabeth. St. Thomas is known for East Indian and Julie while Clarendon has the common mangoes (also called Stringy), Sweetie Come Brush Me, Number Eleven, and others. St. Mary is known for East Indian while St. Elizabeth is said to be the land of Black mangoes.
The smooth, juicy flesh of the mango is enjoyed by itself, or for breakfast with a cup of tea and some toast. For lunch it can be enjoyed with a protein dish on the side. It is also made into condiments such as mango chutney. The average Jamaican loves mango at any time and will wash and make short work of the fruit as soon as they locate its rosy presence.
Be sure to plan your next visit to Jamaica around the mango season, and discover a sweet Jamaican secret.
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