2022 Indian Mango season in SoCal

[simon_grow]

I just picked up a box of Kesar Mangos from Miramar Cash and Carry in San Diego. The price has gone up to $45 for a box of 10 mangos. I don’t know the quality yet because the fruit are not ripe. Please feel free to post updates about varieties available at the local Indian Supermarkets and or taste reviews.





Simon

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Yep, Prices are up indeed. The last time I purchased my Kesars about 3 years ago it was $25-$30 a box. I still have memories of the inflationary 1970s and early 80s what that did to the price of everything. We may look back in 5-8 years from now and think $45 a box is a great deal after they are $80-90 a box. Really looking forward to the Alphonso's as it is my favorite Indian mango.

Thanks for the update, Simon.

Johnny

[Victoria Ave]

There is a pioneer cash and carry that is supposed to open here in riverside this year! I hope they do in time for mango season, otherwise maybe I’ll have to swing by artesia.

I have thought about ordering some of the ones that are harder to get in stores from mangozz so I can expand my tasting and get a better feel what I like.

Recently ordered some madam Francis from tropical fruit box and am very impressed and am germinating the poly seeds

[simon_grow]

Yep, Prices are up indeed. The last time I purchased my Kesars about 3 years ago it was $25-$30 a box. I still have memories of the inflationary 1970s and early 80s what that did to the price of everything. We may look back in 5-8 years from now and think $45 a box is a great deal after they are $80-90 a box. Really looking forward to the Alphonso's as it is my favorite Indian mango.

Thanks for the update, Simon.

Johnny

Johnny,

Try O-15, it is very sweet with a nice Indian resinous taste. I’m falling out of favor with Alphonso because of disease issues, spongy tissue and internal breakdown.

Simon

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Yep Simon 0-15 is a winner indeed. Planted my small tree in the summer of 2021 after grafting and it already put on some fruit this year. I removed the small fruit from my 0-15 this year so the tree could focus on vegetative growth. Looking forward to some fruit in a year or two. (See attached photo)

On a related side note my fruit punch mango Graft I did in 2020 has grown very well on my older established rootstock and is now holding some nice fruit. Looking forward to trying the fruit this September or so.

I do adore Alphonso if you catch it at the right time without the issues you describe. The ones I had prior to Covid had an intense sweetness and a rich Indian flavor. I do like Kesar also but a good Alhonso at the peak is superior in my opinion. Can't wait to try 0-15 as it is also a good grower.

Johnny

Young 0-15 Mango Tree

[Oolie]

Alphonse has a wonderful smell, but I am really drawn to the smell of Kesar. That said there's a number of newer cultivars to trial with aromas similar to each of the above and some with aromas that are not similar at all. I am growing D-2 (Amy) from the Zill trials, and it has a sap smell of geranium. Interested to see how that pans out.

I found boxes of Kesar at an Indian market in Montgomery Alabama, 60/Box, but they're very high quality, MangoFirst brand in a purple box. Just make sure to check each and every fruit for damage, since they're 5$ each.

[simon_grow]

Oolie, my Amy graft died back from being shaded out, I think I got it from you. Ugly Betty is pretty good too but I’ve only sampled a few fruit and I don’t grow it so I’m it sure how productive it is in SoCal.

I found one fruit with a few wrinkles on it so I cut it open and it had a Brix of 17.5% and tasted great. At its best, I believe Kesars are around 19-21% Brix, I’m too lazy to look through old threads.






My hands got too juicy after cutting open the fruit so I spaced on taking a picture of the inside. It was a nice, deep orange color.

Simon

[nileshkwr]

US President Biden to get mangoes sent by Pune exporter https://www.timesnownews.com/pune/us-president-biden-to-get-mangoes-sent-by-pune-exporter-article-91656122

[simon_grow]

US President Biden to get mangoes sent by Pune exporter https://www.timesnownews.com/pune/us-president-biden-to-get-mangoes-sent-by-pune-exporter-article-91656122

That’s awesome, I hope President Biden likes Indian Mangos.

Simon

[nileshkwr]

Tastiest mango varieties are selected as gift to US president.

[599gh888]

I just bought a box earlier today. A noob question, is the seeds viable?

[simon_grow]

The boxes I purchased are irradiated so no, the seeds are not viable. If Mangos are hot water treated, they are viable.

Simon

[599gh888]

Thanks Simon. That’s what I thought but I want to make sure. At least they will ripe properly instead of ripping from inside out

[ben mango]

Thanks to Simon for making this thread. I ventured over to the local Indian ‘saffron’ market and was pleased to find nice looking Ataulfo mangos from the DR at only $16 for a box of 10. They are hot water treated and do have a nice taste. Edit: some of the fruits I ate since yesterday morning looked ripe were more pale inside and less sweet , not sure if I would buy again.

[nileshkwr]

Mansoon rain already reached southern India. It will reach alphanso producing area on 3-4 June. So alphanso season will be over in 15 days.

[mbmango]

Thanks for the heads up!  Found a box at India Food Mart in Culver City.  All the other boxes were pre-claimed, so I guess you have to pre-order with the guy and he'll call you when he gets the boxes in.



Most were quite green.  This was the most yellow, so we opened it up to try.  We've never tasted Kesar before, so no point of reference here.



It was very jelly, and sweet, and had papaya tones, so we felt like it was a bit overripe.  There was some resin, but the sweet mush seemed to overpower it.
So, we tried the next most ripe one, which was pretty green.  Forgot to snap a pic of the exterior, but you can see the skin outline.

Texture was better, but stem end was still mushed, so not sure if it was damaged or just ripened unevenly.  The nose, though, was very tart, with a full spectrum, in between.  My daughter and I actually preferred the tartness vs the sweeter resin at the other end.

[nileshkwr]

The Alphonso or kesar mango have orange pulp. The yellow pulp means its under ripe. Here in India Alphonso mango fruits are picked when 80-85% mature( green in colour and the portion where stalk is attached is depressed and shoulder of fruit is raised.) Then it is kept in dry grass till fruit is ripened. When fruit is ripened ,  it is removed from grass,  kept in open air for 1-2 days. And then eaten. Then only Alphonso will have its original taste.
This year I tried Amrapali , Ratna , Sindhu , Lily, Kent mango varieties. None of them was even close to Alphonso. Their taste was not even close to Bombay (pairi) mango. It was an eye opening experience for me.
Hopefully technology for detection of spongy tissue in Alphonso fruits will be invented for small farmers ( like hand held device).