Mangoes are considered as the queen of Philippine fruits and the Philippines
boasts to have the best mangoes in the world. Of course, each mango-growing country
in the world boasts that their mango is the best. Fair enough. The best Philippine
mangoes that I have tasted come from Guimaras Island. The problem though, was
when I was there, I stayed at a poor fishing village, so there wasn't much to eat
(all their catch are exported to Iloilo), except mangoes.
Guimaras
So it was mangoes in the
morning, manngoes in the evening, mangoes at suppertime. I stayed away from mangoes
for weeks after that. It's ok though. The mango still remains as one of my favorite
fruits and if I can't get ripe mangoes, dried mangoes will suffice. In fact, if
you soak dried mangoes in water long enough for it to re-hydrate, you almost get
the real ripe mangoes.
This is really a learning experience. Once in a while, "Manila mangoes" would be available in the ethnic (Asian and Mexican) markets here in Chicago. They look like mangoes we have in the Philippines, only a little bit smaller. The taste is almost the same but not
quite there. The label says its Manila mangoes but they're grown in Mexico. Somehow, sometime, maybe during the Spanish times or in
contemporary times, someone brought mango seeds from the Philippines to be grown in Mexico. And now, they're supplying the US market. Brilliant but devious.
