Kensington Pride Mango

[HMHausman]

Had some home grown mangoes......one of which was was the famous Australian mango, Kensington Pride. This was the first maturing fruit on my KP tree this year. The KP mango was sliced open first and tasted so that clear palates would be able to best savor its eating qualities.  The consensus among the various tasters was that it was a nicely flavored mango.  The flavor is mostly sweet without any real complexity.  There was no piney resinous taste.  The flesh was smooth and fiber-less. Then the other mangoes were sliced open and compared. The others tried included Edward, Angie, Po Pu Kalay,  Nam Doc Mai, a seedling fruit, that I grew which I suspect may be a cross between Thai Everbearing and Cushman.  The judging group included a Haitian, a Colombian, two native Floridians and a Cuban.  I guess this might be considered skewed because we had no Aussie representation, however, notwithstanding this possibly questionable issue in the judging process, KP brought up the rear in the flavor comparison.  It finished overall ahead of my seedling fruit because my seedling fruit did have some fiber in the flesh. But, there was a split among the judges as to which was better in flavor between the  seedling versus KP.

Now. of course I recognize that a KP grown in Australia may be flavored differently than the one I was able to produce here. But I did want to report my findings from which....you are free to draw what ever conclusion you wish.
 

[Zeeth]

Interesting! Aren't there many more versions of KP in Australia than are available here? Maybe if we had access to some of their new and improved varieties, it would be easier to make a comparison.

[fruitlovers]

KP mango tree produced nicely this year and i've eaten a few of them.
Positive points: nice coloration, totally stringless, no turpentine flavor, nice size.
Negative points: seed very fat and big, flavor very good, but not excellent, production ok but not heavy. Has taken long time to get into decent production.
It has a very mango mango taste, so it's not going to please those people that like watermelon flavored mangoes or lychee flavored mangoes. 
Probably the version of KP we have here is a very early one, not KP176,654.    So yes this is probably not the same mango being raved about in Australia, but one of its early ancestors.

[Pancrazio]

Kensington pride is also the leading commercial variety of mango grown in Italy. In my experience they have been always excellent (well, never grown them but i did store bough; this is the only fruit I actually store bough with some joy). Now, while I’m not an expert of mango tastings by any standard, i still wonder if the dry summer may play a role . All the Italian plantation are in places with a high transpiration, near sea level and finish the ripening at the end of the summer. For sure they have some concentrated juices inside them.

[fisherking73]

If you need a Florida Native-Cuban for the next tasting can knock out 2 birds with one stone LOL

[Mike T]

Ahem...."without any real complexity" and NDM ahead of it? Really.It is taking the mango world by storm, with Asians and Europeans coming on board.It is more than a mango variety, and eating them is kinda spiritual and a bit like a religeous even. I have shown pics of statues dedicated to it.
It is easy to say pearls before swine.The lack of fibre and hydrocarbon taint alone seperate it from many pretenders.

[Mangosurf]

I worked on a mango farm near Atherton in the tablelands west of Cairns Austrailia and they had 3 varieties of mango KP, R2E2, and Honeygold. The Honeygold mangoes were hands down the best with excellent rich classic mango flavor, completely fiberless flesh and no anthracnose. The Kensingston pride  mangoes came in second with a very good mango flavor, slighty fiberous flesh,  and anthracnose prone. The R2E2 fruits came in last and were huge, colorful, fiberless and flavorless. I know Australians are gonna want to kill me for saying their beloved KP had some fiber but that is what I experienced when I tasted the fruit.

[starling1]

There are several types of KP really, the small one likes yours Haus and some bigger selections, I have found the bigger types to be more rich. Smaller ones tend to be more watery.

[mike rule]

In Oz we can't judge KP against the varieties from Florida as we don't get access to them... However KP is a good tasting mango... There are a few different KP's like Bambaroo... Brady....Fordice... Groszmann....KRS...Mackay....Mono... Spooner etc.... We as backyard growers can't even compare KP to Honey Gold as Honey Gold are only at selected orchards and the only ones we can get are sold at the major shopping stores only .......So at this stage I must go for KP as a top tasting mango as we can't get anything else fresh off the tree..... We can get some Keitt... Palmer....Brooks.... R2E2... Honey Gold & Calypso but these are only in the major shops fruit sections.......That is why I hunger for some Poly seeds from different varieties.... If you can help send a PM........ Mike

[Mike T]

OK seriously now and that auto spell check is driving me bananas when changing what I type on this confounded tablet.Yes KP has a bit of fiber, honeygold and the bigger KP 's taste even better and honeygold is essentially another KP in my opinion.I do see a few Floridian mangoes grown in yards,as a few trees on farms and by mango enthusiasts generally . Keitt, Kent, palmer,brooks and a few others planted out in plantations are disappearing slowly from my neck of the woods as they they are unsuitable for export and have poor acceptance domestically. A few asian types do alright in specialty markets.

[starling1]

Also hausman, your KP is not at optimal ripeness. Still too much green in it.

[jc]

Here in Florida, selected seedlings are named something other than the parent's name.  Otherwise we would have dozens of versions of Haden. The land from down should consider a similar approach instead of calling everything KP. The current method  of calling every  seedling mango KP is quite absurd.

[DaveT]

KP mango tree produced nicely this year and i've eaten a few of them.
Positive points: nice coloration, totally stringless, no turpentine flavor, nice size.
Negative points: seed very fat and big, flavor very good, but not excellent, production ok but not heavy. Has taken long time to get into decent production.
It has a very mango mango taste, so it's not going to please those people that like watermelon flavored mangoes or lychee flavored mangoes. 
Probably the version of KP we have here is a very early one, not KP176,654.    So yes this is probably not the same mango being raved about in Australia, but one of its early ancestors.

I think fruitlovers description is not far off the mark. Although I don't know where the "stringless" KP come from, KPs do definately have string. Australia needs to shrug off it's smug self-satisfaction and strive
for a higher quality national mango icon. Regional areas like Florida and Thailand are throwing up exiting new varieties all the time while Australia is seemingly happy to wallow in it's complacency. Australia has more mango growing than both those two places put together. I am up for it, have my 3 Kim Hong seedlings ready to change the taste buds of a naion.

[mangomandan]

Kensington pride is also the leading commercial variety of mango grown in Italy. In my experience they have been always excellent (well, never grown them but i did store bough; this is the only fruit I actually store bough with some joy). Now, while I’m not an expert of mango tastings by any standard, i still wonder if the dry summer may play a role . All the Italian plantation are in places with a high transpiration, near sea level and finish the ripening at the end of the summer. For sure they have some concentrated juices inside them.

If a person wanted to time his first/only visit to Italy during its mango season, when would that be?
Are they grown mainly in Sicily?

[gunnar429]

KP mango tree produced nicely this year and i've eaten a few of them.
Positive points: nice coloration, totally stringless, no turpentine flavor, nice size.
Negative points: seed very fat and big, flavor very good, but not excellent, production ok but not heavy. Has taken long time to get into decent production.
It has a very mango mango taste, so it's not going to please those people that like watermelon flavored mangoes or lychee flavored mangoes. 
Probably the version of KP we have here is a very early one, not KP176,654.    So yes this is probably not the same mango being raved about in Australia, but one of its early ancestors.

 

[gunnar429]

Ahem...."without any real complexity" and NDM ahead of it? Really.It is taking the mango world by storm, with Asians and Europeans coming on board.It is more than a mango variety, and eating them is kinda spiritual and a bit like a religeous even. I have shown pics of statues dedicated to it.
It is easy to say pearls before swine.The lack of fibre and hydrocarbon taint alone seperate it from many pretenders.

Sounds like the Carrie-lovers...and the voodoo. 

[gunnar429]

There are several types of KP really, the small one likes yours Haus and some bigger selections, I have found the bigger types to be more rich. Smaller ones tend to be more watery.

that makes no sense...only one can actually be KP.

[simon_grow]

I think I remember Sheehan sent some Lemon Zest scions to Australia. It would be great if some of our Australian friends could give us a taste comparison of the Kensington Pride vs Lemon Zest. Perhaps several decades from now there will be multiple selections from seedling Lemon Zests grown in Australia which is a very good thing. I like that Kensington Pride like Lemon Zest is polyembryonic.

Simon

[echinopora]

There are several types of KP really, the small one likes yours Haus and some bigger selections, I have found the bigger types to be more rich. Smaller ones tend to be more watery.

that makes no sense...only one can actually be KP.

The name KP is strongly associated with a good mango in australia so seedling selections generally keep the parent name so the average joe knows it is going to be similar. So you might get a banana ken or a allison red ken. Kind of like different models/years or the same car or including the name of a famous sire in its offspring in animal racing.

[Pancrazio]

If a person wanted to time his first/only visit to Italy during its mango season, when would that be?
Are they grown mainly in Sicily?

You should aim for being here around the middle of september. Incidentally, this can also be a good moment to visit italy, at least you should avoid the hottest heat waves and being in middles season, from the touristic point of view, may help you save some money.
Mangoes are grown, as far as i know, exclusively in Sicily. Other places may be able to have plants of mangoes, but that must be limited to Sardinia and Calabria. And those places aren't capable of sustaining commercial plantations anyway (winter is too cold there). The commercial orchards are near Palermo (Balestrate) and around Milazzo. If memory serves me well, some plants are also around Catania, but they aren't productive yet.
Don't make the mistake of judging the italian mango industry as developed: it is still in its infancy. Most people here struggle in telling apart a mango from an avocado; exotic fruits isn't an italian thing. Mango are beginning to be accepted just recently and just by few people. So, if mangoes are one of the reason of your trip i suggest you to forget about them: chances are, that in the most traditional italian places (and sicily is really a traditional place) you will have an hard time even finding them for sale. The bulk of our production is sold to germany (just saying...). However, if you happen to come, i can try to find some plantation that can organize some tastings. If you have any more question/need help just pm me.

[HMHausman]

Also hausman, your KP is not at optimal ripeness. Still too much green in it.

I will consider your observation. However, from my mango eating experience, the flesh was mature and pretty close to perfectly ripe.  Mangoes in my yard rarely color up as they do in other locations. I have many more fruits to experiment with.

[fruitlovers]

Here in Florida, selected seedlings are named something other than the parent's name.  Otherwise we would have dozens of versions of Haden. The land from down should consider a similar approach instead of calling everything KP. The current method  of calling every  seedling mango KP is quite absurd.

Yes, i agree. It's just a marketing ploy because Kensington is already so widely recognized marketing name, and they don't want to spend more money pushing a new cultivar name.
The same is done in California with Hass avocado. There are many versions of Hass, but they all carry the Hass name.

[HMHausman]

The same is done in California with Hass mango. There are many versions of Hass, but they all carry the Hass name.

Never heard of Haas mango....did you mean avocado?

[fruitlovers]

Ahem...."without any real complexity" and NDM ahead of it? Really.It is taking the mango world by storm, with Asians and Europeans coming on board.It is more than a mango variety, and eating them is kinda spiritual and a bit like a religeous even. I have shown pics of statues dedicated to it.
It is easy to say pearls before swine.The lack of fibre and hydrocarbon taint alone seperate it from many pretenders.

Come on Mike, there are dozens, if not hundreds of cultivars without fiber and turpentine taste. That alone cannot distinguish the KP. The only religious experience is that bestowed by Australian marketing, at which i admit the Australians are VERY good. They even convinced their whole population that their mango is #1. Similar has happened in USA (California) with marketing Hass avocado. An avocado that is not top tier. You find even forum members saying the Hass spiritual mantra.  They've even beat the Aussies with their marketing push as now Hass is grown all over the planet!
Somebody should bring a box of current version of KP to Fairchild mango festival and do a blind taste test. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't make it even to the top 25. Too bad ag restrictions make that impossible, otherwise the Aussies would take a real beating. Sorry Mike.

[fruitlovers]

The same is done in California with Hass mango. There are many versions of Hass, but they all carry the Hass name.

Never heard of Haas mango....did you mean avocado?

Thanks, yes typo. I corrected that. Good thing you caught that Harry or people would think Zill's now has introduced a mango with avocado flavor.