I thank many of you for your kind words!
For the other side, I also acknowledge that urushiol is a serious concern. I apologize for failing to point out, while being videoed, that anyone who has ever suffered a body-wide allergic reaction to poison ivy, or an allergic reaction to mangos themselves, should probably not have any contact with mango skins, much less eat skins. I do often say these things in person.
I say "probably" because I myself have always been subject to immediate skin burns from the sap of green-picked 'Tommy Atkins', 'Haden', and 'Ice Cream' mangos, and I do get throat irritation if I eat the skins of those varieties--- when commercially picking 'Tommy Atkins' in the late 1970's, I wore a KKK-type, modified pillowcase over my head to protect my face from burns. So urushiol, and anything else that may be an issue, appears to vary a lot per type of mango.
I am also excruciatingly aware, from my own intolerance to some two-dozen healthy foods that I used to eat, that allergies don't generally arise from inappropriate consumption.
My dear wife who grew up eating mangos, and who avoided eating the skin of any kind of fruit---and bread crusts --- while working as my grafting assistant, became seriously allergic to contact with any part of mango fruits or plants, and to any smell of mango fruits or flowers.
So I can sympathize with the negative emotions expressed here, without agreeing to allow myself to be shepherded away from my own preferences.
"De gustibus, non disputandum est." Likes aren't disputable.
Two or three summers ago I went on the group tour at Truly Tropical with you Har and I can confirm that you definitely repeatedly repeatedly repeatedly warned me & the group about the possibility of discovering that I may be allergic to eating mango skin that I previously had not been allergic (I informed you I had over 20 years of previous mango skin eating enjoyment with no problems ever for myself & I would gladly accept my rewards in this risk/reward moment of life), I had asked if ok to eat some of the dropped Hadens about to rot on the ground and you said that was ok... I think I ate 2 with the skin since they were pretty ripe and I was pretty hungry
... Now I see that the Haden is one of the ones giving you a throat irritation....
https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(16)30107-6/abstractPossible to become sensitized to a food etc. with little to no reaction the first time.... Next time exposure can result in a big allergic reaction... Life is a Risk...Know your Risks and ways to lessen negative outcomes... epi pen, benadryl, etc. etc. etc.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4414527/After watching the video, I see that I'm not the only person that has a hard time ranking or Even Remembering the best mangos of the season, especially as time goes by. And I see more and more, IMO there is really not a one best mango.
Cookie Monster has mentioned his 3 different ripeness times that he can eat his Nam Doc and I add my 4th option of eating the skin if desired and not allergic of course, plus the seasonal variation in rainfall & or irrigation, temperature, Plus the different fertilization/mulching/trace mineral/ph soil conditions/etc. etc. etc. programs attempted year to year... 4 ways x more than 6 other variables = more than 24 different potential opinions for one type mango tasting good/bad per mango season that you may experience on a year to year basis that your trying to remember???
As with Cookies Nam Doc.... there is no one perfect time to eat a mango.... It is up to the individual as what stage they prefer it...
It would probably be beneficial in all of our posts to help identify the IMO (Your) best time to eat a variety by listing it as skin stage ex. Green soft or Semi yellow-Green or Full yellow or yellow red etc. etc. etc.
I have purchased two of the six varieties in the video. I like mango trees for early season, mid season, and late season.
By purchasing many different tasting mangos... citrus, lemon, orange, flat, zing, tropical punch, sweet, tart, acidic, floral, pineapple, pure sugar, lime, etc. etc. etc.,,, I am often able to eat three different tastes during a sitting... And that is my goal for the best mango taste is many good mangos with each hitting a specific taste bud point during a mango feast at a table...