Mango Reviews

[JoeP450]

Here is a Jakarta mango I purchased from Truly Tropical:










(Me just ranting) I got some beef. Some beef with the pine island variety viewer -> http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/mango/ and this illustrates one of the reasons why I am tasting these mangos, posting pictures, and reviewing for the sake that there is not enough info on the web for the average person to use when making informed choices. Most likely if your reading this, like me you have limited planting space and need to make the best possible choice with all the information available to you.  This variety veiwer of mangos is often cited and passed to others as a source of info and for crying out loud they have a picture of brahm kai meu with nam doc mai written beneath it. What if you never knew about NDM's distinct beak and shape? Then look at the picture of the lowly Jakarta, what a boring green mango with black dots. Maybe this looks like a Jakarta in the very early stages of fruiting, but every Jakarta I have ever seen hanging on a tree colors up nicely with some blush. I guess why advertise with such a boring picture is what I'm getting at.

This mango was large at 5in long and weighing 779g. The coloration was primarily yellow with some patches of green, a slight reddish-orange blush at its crown, and some anthracnose scarring. The smell on the outer peel was sweet and spicy. When I cut the mango open it produced a bright orange flesh. The texture was juicy and soft with a bristly mouthfeel. I would not describe this mango as "virtually fiberless" as described on the variety viewer UNLESS by virtually fiberless one is saying there was much fiber near the seed with a minimal amount of long stringy fibers dispersed throughout the flesh but still manageable to be enjoyed with a spoon ; ). There was a large amount of edible flesh and the seed was monoembryonic. The taste was of sweet mango flavor, not tangy, not resinous, and very juicy.

-JoeP450

[Tropicalgrower89]

This thread should be stickied and should not be allowed to die...

[HMHausman]

Here is a Jakarta mango I purchased from Truly Tropical:










(Me just ranting) I got some beef. Some beef with the pine island variety viewer -> http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/mango/ and this illustrates one of the reasons why I am tasting these mangos, posting pictures, and reviewing for the sake that there is not enough info on the web for the average person to use when making informed choices. Most likely if your reading this, like me you have limited planting space and need to make the best possible choice with all the information available to you.  This variety veiwer of mangos is often cited and passed to others as a source of info and for crying out loud they have a picture of brahm kai meu with nam doc mai written beneath it. What if you never knew about NDM's distinct beak and shape? Then look at the picture of the lowly Jakarta, what a boring green mango with black dots. Maybe this looks like a Jakarta in the very early stages of fruiting, but every Jakarta I have ever seen hanging on a tree colors up nicely with some blush. I guess why advertise with such a boring picture is what I'm getting at.

This mango was large at 5in long and weighing 779g. The coloration was primarily yellow with some patches of green, a slight reddish-orange blush at its crown, and some anthracnose scarring. The smell on the outer peel was sweet and spicy. When I cut the mango open it produced a bright orange flesh. The texture was juicy and soft with a bristly mouthfeel. I would not describe this mango as "virtually fiberless" as described on the variety viewer UNLESS by virtually fiberless one is saying there was much fiber near the seed with a minimal amount of long stringy fibers dispersed throughout the flesh but still manageable to be enjoyed with a spoon ; ). There was a large amount of edible flesh and the seed was monoembryonic. The taste was of sweet mango flavor, not tangy, not resinous, and very juicy.

-JoeP450

Agree whole heatedly with everything you have said.....except......all of the Jakartas I have had and grown have had a distinctly resinous flavor.  I wonder how this prominent aspect of the flavor profile differs in our flavor analysis.

[Squam256]

I've never tasted a Jakarta that lacked resin.

[JoeP450]

When sampled this jakarta mango it was overly juicy and very well could have been watered down or over ripe. There was a slight resinous taste but I only noticed it on two bites and was so slight i thought it wasn't even necessary to bring up when the overall picture was non-resinous. I try and buy 2-3 of the same cultivar and use the most optimum sample to review. A few weeks ago I purchased a Jakarta that was olive green with blush and when I cut it open it was way overripe and the consistency of apple sauce, yet while on a fruit picking tour at TT the jakartas on the trees look ready to pick with nice color but are hard as rocks. I have had bad luck with Jakarta, I had a tree purchased from Excalibur that developed mango malformation disease and the tree was so young and short that to cut it a ft below the diseased portion would practically stump it so I ended up ripping the tree out.

-JoeP450

[JF]

Joe, I really enjoyed this mango.i agree with you I wouldn't call it resinous I would say it's an intense. This is the kind of mango we love in the caribbean.

[HMHausman]

Joe, I really enjoyed this mango.i agree with you I wouldn't call it resinous I would say it's an intense. This is the kind of mango we love in the caribbean.

Exactly the flavor ( the Caribbean taste)  I would call resinous.  That flavor is prominent to my taste buds in mangoes such as Jakarta, Julie, Bombay, Ice Cream and many other mangoes.  Perhaps we are having a terminology issue here. Intense, for sure......but also, for me, inescapably resinous.

[Tropicalgrower89]

bump   

[JoeP450]

Here are two okrung mangos I purchased from Walter zills:












I have heard that okrung is often enjoyed green so this review is of green and ripe. Pic1 is ripe, pic2 is green flesh, pic3 is green outside, pic4 is ripe flesh, pic5 is ripe on scale. I would also appreciate growers of this cultivar feed back as to the normal size of this mango. When I was perusing through the many okrungs available they were all small being about 3in on avg and for some reason I was under the impression this was a much longer mango.  The green okrung was about 3.25in long, dark green on outside, and firm with no give. I first whittled the peel off then halved the mango along the seed on each side. There was no juice on the flesh and it was kind of sticky and sappy. The flesh was crispy, and fiberless. The taste was sweet and tangy. The overall picture was similar to a green apple, but if I had to choose I would rather eat a green okrung mango. The one drawback was the small amount of available flesh, the seed was wide and thin but the overall size of this mango was small. Next I waited a few days till the ripe okrung was ready (today). This mango had no smell on the outside, was a yellowing green and had significant softness to it. It weighed 214g and was 3.75in long. When I cut the mango open it revealed a pale yellow flesh with some watery juice. The flesh was fiberless and somewhat juicy. The taste was sweet resembling sugar cane, no tart or resin, but straight simple syrup flavor and reminded me of  the "OKPT" mango I reviewed earlier in this thread. The seed was thin and polyembrionic but this also was a small mango and I would have liked to have more available flesh.

-JoeP450

[JF]

Joe, I really enjoyed this mango.i agree with you I wouldn't call it resinous I would say it's an intense. This is the kind of mango we love in the caribbean.

Exactly the flavor ( the Caribbean taste)  I would call resinous.  That flavor is prominent to my taste buds in mangoes such as Jakarta, Julie, Bombay, Ice Cream and many other mangoes.  Perhaps we are having a terminology issue here. Intense, for sure......but also, for me, inescapably resinous.

When you say resinous I think of a metallic, iodine taste and none of the mangos you mention have that taste. I associate that taste with mango Jobo and mango macho from Cuba....Carrie also has it at lease to me.

[JoeP450]

When I say resinous I am basing resin off of the turpentine mango which is very resinous and so named because turpentine is literally a wood resin. Now there are different angles on "resin" which I will explain with examples of the Carrie and ice cream soon. My definition of a resin-taste is a bitter sap that will cause one to recognize the taste as almost some kind of chemical oil additive to the sweet flesh of the mango. I find mangos so incredible because of the diversity and nuance in flavor. Some are very direct while others are complex and can change shape throughout the mango, for lack of better example like wine. I have tasted spicy, syrupy honey sugar, honey dew Mellon, earthy type, musky, coconut, peach, nectarine, ect nuances in mangos as well as different consistencies of flesh and amount of fiber. All this play into the flavor and mouth feel of a mango. I taste resin in Haden, and its understandable because its parent is turpentine, so I know I'm not crazy. The Carrie and ice cream mangos are delicious and put their own unique spin on their resinous flavor. Carrie is almost like pine sol being strong piney and citrusy, while ice cream has an almost wintergreen oil and lemony bitterness to it. I can't say any mango has an indian/Caribbean/Floridian/Thai taste because I have only eaten over 80 different mango cultivars and lack the knowledge where the exact origins are from. In general though I think I can somewhat say I get more earthy musky type from India/Egypt, tropical fruit taste from Florida, and honey dew melon sugar cane from orient but there are in betweens in flavor like the "philipine" mango I reviewed recently which keep me from generalizing any such geographical origin. Also though it is named "philipine" it very well may be from somewhere else just as the peach mango tastes nothing like a peach and how the jakarta named mango, jakarta capital of indonesia, is no where geographically close to the caribbean. I try and not take any mango names for granted when reviewing flavor profiles. Just the mango by itself.

-JoeP450

[Tropicdude]

Joe.  gotta say, I love your reviews. I open this thread every time I see it has been posted on.

[plantlover13]

When I say resinous I am basing resin off of the turpentine mango which is very resinous and so named because turpentine is literally a wood resin. Now there are different angles on "resin" which I will explain with examples of the Carrie and ice cream soon. My definition of a resin-taste is a bitter sap that will cause one to recognize the taste as almost some kind of chemical oil additive to the sweet flesh of the mango. I find mangos so incredible because of the diversity and nuance in flavor. Some are very direct while others are complex and can change shape throughout the mango, for lack of better example like wine. I have tasted spicy, syrupy honey sugar, honey dew Mellon, earthy type, musky, coconut, peach, nectarine, ect nuances in mangos as well as different consistencies of flesh and amount of fiber. All this play into the flavor and mouth feel of a mango. I taste resin in Haden, and its understandable because its parent is turpentine, so I know I'm not crazy. The Carrie and ice cream mangos are delicious and put their own unique spin on their resinous flavor. Carrie is almost like pine sol being strong piney and citrusy, while ice cream has an almost wintergreen oil and lemony bitterness to it. I can't say any mango has an indian/Caribbean/Floridian/Thai taste because I have only eaten over 80 different mango cultivars and lack the knowledge where the exact origins are from. In general though I think I can somewhat say I get more earthy musky type from India/Egypt, tropical fruit taste from Florida, and honey dew melon sugar cane from orient but there are in betweens in flavor like the "philipine" mango I reviewed recently which keep me from generalizing any such geographical origin. Also though it is named "philipine" it very well may be from somewhere else just as the peach mango tastes nothing like a peach and how the jakarta named mango, jakarta capital of indonesia, is no where geographically close to the caribbean. I try and not take any mango names for granted when reviewing flavor profiles. Just the mango by itself.

-JoeP450

Here come the emoticons:




What, too much? 

For me, the words "only" and "80 cultivars" just don't go together. I'm crazy jealous of those who have tasted 20, me and my measly ten or so, but (wait a sec, ctrl I wont work here right?, oh, here's the button!) 80 is just awesome. You guys are so darn lucky!

[jc]

Finally got a fully ripened Lemon Zest.

Texture was firm but melting and totally fiberless.

Flavor was very sweet, it tasted like a regular PPK marinated in grape soda! Also some other wonderful flavors that I cannot adequately articulate. Fabulous! 

My new favorite mango. I've tasted about 50 different mango cultivars this season and Lemon Zest is hands down the winner.  This mango tree is a must have, I'm getting one next week.

I don't think it's sweeter than the PPKs at my house (lots of potassium fert) but the complexity of flavors is ridiculous.

[JoeP450]

Here is a Pickering mango I purchased from Walter zills:









This mango was yellow orange with some anthracnose. It was 4.5in long and weighed 449g. When I cut the mango open it revealed a nice yellow-orange flesh glistening with juice adhering to the flesh. The flesh was completely fiberless, had a thick mouthfeel and was firm. In the one picture you can see how the flesh retains its shape when eating with a spoon yet the spoon glides through it like butter. There was a large amount of flesh to eat as the monoembryonic seed was thin and wide. The taste was a nice story that went like this: slight coconut nuance when first hitting the taste buds, then melting into a syrupy sweetness, and finishing with a slight bitter resinous aftertaste on flesh close to the skin. Very tasty mango and I decided to stay in the tropical mood and make myself a drink that went something like this: equal parts captain Morgan black spiced rum, vita coco pure coconut water, add ice and stir. Ahh goodnight forum.

-Joep450

[jc]

I'm going to have one of each. I would not give up the PPK, still a top 3 mango for me. Plus in a normal season PPK is supposed to be an earlier fruit. PPK will be my appetizer for the LZ!

Yep, I don't understand why folks are still planting PPK, when Lemon Zest -- an improved PPK -- is available. I think Zills blew it on the naming, since most folks think that the mango tastes like lemons based on the name (it doesn't).

Here is a mango called Po Pyu Kalay (PPK) which was purchased from truly tropical:

This is the Po Pyu Kalay mango commonly called lemon meringue and PPK for short. This mango was a flat yellow in color and flecked with small brown dots when was soft and ripe. This mango weighed in at 309g and was 4.5in long. When I cut the mango open it reveled a bright yellow flesh glistening with syrupy mango juice adhering to the flesh. The flesh was completely fiberless with a creamy texture. The polyembrionic seed was skinny and thick and overall there was a fair amount of flesh to eat. The taste was syrupy sweet of lemon citrus and honey with a slight funky taste on flesh directly off the seed. This was a delicious mango.

Since PPK is the parent of Lemon Zest I made sure to picture them side by side to show their similarities in coloration and shape but also an obvious difference in size. The LZ overall in every category is just MORE bigger, sweeter, lemony, creamy, viscous than the PPK. It is amazing something as good as the PPK could actually be improved, but the reality is a mango called Lemon Zest.







-JoeP450

[HMHausman]

Here is a Pickering mango I purchased from Walter zills:









This mango was yellow orange with some anthracnose. It was 4.5in long and weighed 449g. When I cut the mango open it revealed a nice yellow-orange flesh glistening with juice adhering to the flesh. The flesh was completely fiberless, had a thick mouthfeel and was firm. In the one picture you can see how the flesh retains its shape when eating with a spoon yet the spoon glides through it like butter. There was a large amount of flesh to eat as the monoembryonic seed was thin and wide. The taste was a nice story that went like this: slight coconut nuance when first hitting the taste buds, then melting into a syrupy sweetness, and finishing with a slight bitter resinous aftertaste on flesh close to the skin. Very tasty mango and I decided to stay in the tropical mood and make myself a drink that went something like this: equal parts captain Morgan black spiced rum, vita coco pure coconut water, add ice and stir. Ahh goodnight forum.

-Joep450

Nice description.  This fruit looks like its a bit past its prime, so it was nice that you got some of the flavor nuances that Pickering can offer. Mine, at this stage of ripeness,  this year anyway,  have been somewhat washed out.

[JoeP450]

Jc: I agree, the LZ is the best mango I have had this year, and probably the best I have ever had to date but I still have yet to try maha chanok and coconut cream and for the sake of the hardcore Aussies Kensington pride. The LZ is crazy complex agreed.

Harry: I agree the three Pickering I had were quite firm though the skin was very yellow and starting to increase in brown spots, which didn't correlate well with other photos I have see of pickerings.

[JoeP450]

Here is a ZINC (Zill Indo-Chinese) mango from Walter zills:










This mango was a light yellow with some tan patches and felt soft and ready to eat. It was 4.5in long and weighed 390g. When I cut the mango open it produced a yellow orange flesh glistening with mango juice adhering to the flesh. When I see that the juice is adhering to the flesh it is usually predictive of a viscous  sweetness which coats the the tastebuds and that I describe as "syrupy." The flesh was completely fiberless and had a thick savory mouth feel. There was plenty of flesh to eat as the seed husk was thin relative to the size of the mango and when I opened the husk this little cashew-like deformed seed came out so I can't tell if it is mono or poly. I'm gonna plant it just for fun and see if it will look like a normal seedling. The flavor had some syrupy honey dew notes along with the sweet tart flavor but not the tartness of the sweet tart. What I also found interesting is that the peel of ZINC, like Edward, is bitter.

-JoeP450

[BrettBorders]

The LZ is crazy complex agreed.

I have had several great Lemon Zests this season but none of them struck me as "complex".. I found the flavor to be unbelievable PURE and sublime.

The center has a candied lemon peel taste, near the skin has an orange sherbet taste.
Absolutely nothing resinous / turpy, sour, spicy or funky.. or simultaneous interplay of multiple flavors that I would call complex. To my taste a good Haden would have a much more "complex" flavor than an LZ (but inferior quality of flavor).

Whatever the nuances or nitpicking, the LZ is a fluke of nature... a must-try masterpiece!

[JoeP450]

Here is a sweet tart mango from Walter zills:










I was told that the sweet tart mango is a seedling from the ZINC mango and after tasting both I can taste some resemblance in sweet flavor with the most noticeable difference being in tartness. This sweet tart mango was yellowing with green patches and had some soft give to the flesh. I ate two sweet tarts at different stages of ripeness one was overripe mostly yellow with some anthracnose and browning and the one pictured above. The overripe one tasted like it had lost much of its flavor and was hardly tart so my recommendation is to try both but in my opinion the flavor is much better with some green on the skin. This mango was 3.5in long and weighed 245g. When I cut the mango open it revealed a bright yellow orange flesh and leaked some thin juice onto the cutting board. The flesh was fiberless and juicy with a buttery feel. The seed which looked like it was polyembrionic was large relative to the small mango with just enough flesh to satisfy. The taste was at first eye wincing tart which then went really sweet. I also noticed that when I would place a piece on my tongue and let it just melt away I would get a strange aftertaste which I cannot describe as resinous or anything else I have ever tasted in a mango before. Overall I think this mango might be more of an acquired taste for most people as it is really uniquely tart, so I think definitely try one yourself before planting. Of random note I thought the peel was really thin and even thinner than my knife blade.



-JoeP450

[JoeP450]

Here is a Val-Carrie mango from Walter zills:








Valencia Pride x Carrie = Val-Carrie, personally I think it would be a lot more interesting to spell it Valkyrie but that would imply Scandinavian ancestry lol. This mango was a a very interesting mango to eat primarily because you can see how each parent lends characteristics to the product Val-Carrie. I would say the shape, flesh color, and taste is more VP like, while the peel color, fiberless, and resin after taste are taken from Carrie. This mango was yellow with some dark black spots and felt firm with very slight give though the peel looked like it was starting to decline. It was 5.25in long and weighed 361g. Before halving the mango I cut the top cap off near the stem and a strong resinous smell was present. Next, I halved the mango which produced a light yellow orange flesh leaking a watery juice. The flesh was fiberless like a carrie with the juicy consistency of VP and even with the large monoembryonic seed there was plenty of flesh to eat. The taste was all over the place for me from which I tasted some coconut, some sweet sugar cane, and some peach. The resinous taste was not similar to Carrie, it was there and bitter, but not like the citrus-pine of Carrie.

-JoeP450

[BrettBorders]

Great reviews, Joe! There is virtually no content on new & interesting mango cultivars on the web... Keep up the good work.

[MangoFang]

Joe - you are making a bit of history here - such complete mango reviews for
these Florida mangoes - astoundingly good and consistent work on your part!

It would be interesting to see how the California mangoes, using your same set of
taste buds on the same mango varieties, would compare.......?

GREAT JOB!



Gary

[HMHausman]

Joe - you are making a bit of history here - such complete mango reviews for
these Florida mangoes - astoundingly good and consistent work on your part!
It would be interesting to see how the California mangoes, using your same set of
taste buds on the same mango varieties, would compare.......?
GREAT JOB!
Gary

I think a plane ticket and a stay over at the mangofang compound next cali mango tasting would be in order for Joe.