Ice Cream Mango

[rbody2]

I have never tasted the Ice Cream Mango before & this may be my only chance since I will be getting rid of this tree.  How do you know when the fruit is ready/ripe?  There is only one mango, so I only have one shot!

[TREESNMORE]

. I have 2 or three fruit a little riper then yours . I will take a picture tomorrow. Just planted mine in the ground.

[rbody2]

Thanks Mike!

I know it would do better in the ground, but I need to max out my production since I have limited space now.  So unless it tastes Amazing I will be getting rid of it.  In your opinion, how does it taste?

[simon_grow]

Ice Cream mango is excellent! I tried it at a mango tasting we had here in SoCal and it was perhaps the best mango or at least top three of the day. I think just about everyone rated it as #1, 2 or 3.

It is very sweet and it has a unique complex taste that is difficult to describe but it's absolutely delicious. Picking mangos here in California is different than in Florida. Depending on your location and climate, our mangos may need to hang on the tree a lot longer because we don't get as much heat.

In your situation where you only have a single mango, waiting a bit longer is better than picking it early. What I do is wait for the shoulders to fill in and when i notice the mango is not getting any larger and I feel it is about to fall off the tree, I very gently lift the mango in the palm of my hand until the mango is laying flat on my hand. I do this trying not to put any pressure on where the mango and the stem meets. If it comes off the stem, it should ripen properly. Don't try to force it off.

Alternatively if you want to get the maximum flavor. You may want to bag the fruit and carefully tie it to the branch so that if it drops off the tree, the bag will catch it before it hits the ground. If you think it's ready and it's still hanging on the tree, give it a gentle tap and if it falls off, it should ripen.

I am not currently growing Ice Cream but I will be grafting it to my trees this year. Please keep us updated on what you think of the fruit!

Simon

[simon_grow]

This video demonstrates what I'm talking about with the first technique. I would be even more gentle than the guy in the video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=G3bGNUyHdyE

Simon

[Sleepdoc]

Very good description Simon.  I agree.  I have an Ice Cream that has produced 30+ mangoes over the past few years.  It is an overall very shy bearer in my experience.

The mango itself is small but has an excellent and unique flavor that most really appreciate.  I look forward to eating them every year and it is one of my most anticipated mangoes.  It almost always surprises at a tasting table, ranking quite high if not occasionally challenging for the top spot.

[TREESNMORE]

Here is one of the  fruit a little more yellow than yours. The ice cream is a very good fruit with a unique taste . I would keep the tree quality is sometimes better than quantity. At lest here were you can buy so much fruit.

[Guanabanus]

I've seen several very small 'Ice Cream' mangos fruiting very well, but I haven't seen any large one doing so.  So you might consider keeping it in a 15-gallon pot, and keep some of the small twigs thinned out.

[PurpleAlligator]

My 2 yr old ice cream has flowered heavily the last 2 years but not held any fruit.

[rbody2]

Thanks everyone for your help!!!

Mike could you send another pic once you pick the fruit?

[TREESNMORE]

Yes . I only have two nice  fruit and one small one.

[Future]

There was a time when I rated Ice Cream as #1.  It is a very good mango wrt to taste.  I since which got introduced to the world of Zill mangoes and even with them, Ice Cream still makes the top 10.  All else being equal, I would keep it.

[rbody2]

I will give it a fair chance...maybe it stays. At least I can keep it in a pot for a while.

[rliou]

This is my ice cream from my 15g potted tree last year.  I waited till it softened on the counter before eating

[bsbullie]

Ice Cream mango...taste, weill, I dont want to seem biased so I will cut to the chase...it sucks.  There, I said it.  Tree is prone to fungus and fruit is prone to scab.

[mike rule]

Rob... Good to have you back............ Thanks for your knowledge etc..... Mike

[simon_grow]

This is my ice cream from my 15g potted tree last year.  I waited till it softened on the counter before eating

So how did it taste? The one I tasted was fantastic.

Simon

[rbody2]

Ice Cream mango...taste, weill, I dont want to seem biased so I will cut to the chase...it sucks.  There, I said it.  Tree is prone to fungus and fruit is prone to scab.

That's why I was thinking about getting rid of it.  I had heard about all of the disease issues, but surprisingly it is the cleanest fruit in the yard.  The cleanest mangos in my yard in order are Ice Cream, sweet tart, Fairchild, and then cogshall.