Maha Chanok vs Nam Doc mai--- taste etc

[zands]

I have never tasted a Maha Chanok mango but am thinking of planting a tree. I know what Nam doc mai tastes like. How does Chanok taste in comparison? Is it sweeter? Does it have an extended season in South Florida? What is its season for ripeness?

Is it pretty reliable to produce each year?
Thanks!

***** any other spellings for this mango I should include in the title?

[simon_grow]

I only have a little bit of information on Maha Chanok sometimes spelled Chanok, Chinok, Chinook. It is a slow growing variety for me that is moderately disease resistant. The Mahas from San Diego can get to about 21% Brix, similar to the NDM but the NDM tastes sweeter to my palate probably because the Maha has some acidity to counter the sugars.

Smell is a big part of how a person assesses a mango and a ripe Maha smells absolutely incredible, very perfumy with floral and citrus notes. The strongest notes to me are ones of Tangerine and Maha is absolutely in my opinion one of the most beautiful mangos on the planet with its shapely curves and rainbow hues. The flavor of the Maha can be weak at times such as in the early fruit with Brix closer to 17-19%.

When eaten firm ripe, it has a wonderful Tangerine taste from the acidity which is very very mellow but definitely noticeable. At this stage, the sugars are not fully converted and the fruit is only mildly sweet. If left to fully ripen, firmness of a ripe peach, the fruit is sweet but the Tangerine flavor and acidic notes are not as noticeable. The Maha produces reliably here but most varieties do because of my relatively cold weather. My Maha is on Turpentine rootstock and is dieing back, this is the first year it hasn't had fruit in several years and I attribute it to the bad rootstock and dieback.

Edited to correct Brix, Maha gets to 21% Brix.

Simon

[JF]

Zands
 A few differences from Simon about the Maha. The Brix on my Maha have reached the low  to mid 20's with a sweet and rich flavor. I have never notice the citrusy notes but a rich generic mango flavor. The NDM have hit 26 Brix of pure sugar with little to no complexity

[BrettBorders]

Maha Chanok is a very complex tasting mango. It is extremely sweet, has an exotic &  subtle tartness, a little spicy ("cola syrup" resin flavor), and a little bit creamy. In my opinion it is one of the most delicious and beautiful of all mangos. It has a distinct odor.

It's far more interesting to me than the Nam Doc Mai, which is good, but is mostly just sweet with subtle afterglow flavor.

[dwfl]

I have to say NDM is much better (to my taste buds at least) when it's not too ripe. Too ripe for NDM for me is when it tastes pure sweet with little to no acidity. If eaten before that stage (when it is still semi firm) this is where they truly shine imo. Still sweet but balanced with acidity and flavor.

[dwfl]

Maha Chanok is the more attractive mango. Beautiful color and shape with thin skin. It has a thin seed like NDM. Maha is also more fragrant. Both are very good mangoes in their own right

[bsbullie]

I would not say that Mahachanok is very complx.  Moreso than NDM but thats truly not saying much.  I do prefer Mahachanok by a landslide.

[zands]

My Maha is on Turpentine rootstock and is dieing back, this is the first year it hasn't had fruit in several years and I attribute it to the bad rootstock and dieback
Simon

What problems with that turpentine rootstock!!!

[zands]

I thank everyone for the replies and input. Half the reason I am thinking of getting one is due to the mangoes shape. Maybe a good potassium diet makes it more colorful like the ones being grown in that Australian maha chanok plantation that has ideas for marketing them as unique mangoes. And even copyrighted their name for them.

Last year the last NDMs on my tree had a more complex mango taste. Not just the usual straight sweetness. It was a dry summer so maybe this was a factor

[zands]

Maha Chanok is the more attractive mango. Beautiful color and shape with thin skin. It has a thin seed like NDM. Maha is also more fragrant. Both are very good mangoes in their own right

They look better to me too! I have seen a tree full of maha chanok but they were a few weeks before ripeness

BrettBorders-
It's far more interesting to me than the Nam Doc Mai, which is good, but is mostly just sweet with subtle afterglow flavor.

Thanks!

[TnTrobbie]

I'll give you some to taste Zands. PM sent.

[Cookie Monster]

Yep. A lot of people have never experienced this side of the NDM, and it's a shame because NDM is exceptionally delicious and even somewhat complexly flavored when eaten slightly green. Once it gets to pure yellow, it's like eating syrup -- with zero acidity to balance it out.

I have to say NDM is much better (to my taste buds at least) when it's not too ripe. Too ripe for NDM for me is when it tastes pure sweet with little to no acidity. If eaten before that stage (when it is still semi firm) this is where they truly shine imo. Still sweet but balanced with acidity and flavor.

[Cookie Monster]

Based on growing the NDM for 10 years and growing the MC for 3, I would say that they are nearly equal in terms of flavor rank. Both are excellent mangoes. I do appreciate the slower growing nature f the MC. My 5 year old MC tree barely cracks 7 feet tall. For what it's worth, my MC is a graft from Harry's legendary tree.

Both mangoes have 2 sides to them, depending on what stage they are eaten.

The MC, when eaten slightly green has a wonderful, somewhat complex flavor with a mix of south east asian spice (cola smell), acidity and sweetness. However, when eaten fully ripe (when the floral scent is at its peak), the MC can resemble the Edward in both texture and a subtle "buttery" flavor.

NDM is normally sweeter than MC.