Dinner: Gary, Taralay, Yi Xuan
Our 3rd stop on our 2019 mango tour was Walter and Verna Zill's Fruit Stand. Walter is a walking encyclopedia. If you want to know about grafting techniques used in the 1930s, Walter can tell you. My man Carlos is a master grafter and dove right in with Walter. How to do a bottle grafts. How to select budwood for bud grafting mangoes. Watch these two go at it and you could almost see the sparks flying from their heads.
Meanwhile, Verna was flirting with me.
Ok, well, let my explain. When a woman says "Abayomi, I have a box of mangoes with your name on it" it could be interpreted as being after a man's heart. (Later that day, the ladies at Zill Nursery were after my heart too but that's a story for another day). So I advised Walter and he gave Verna his consent, but only after he leaves this earth. Given his unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge, let that day take its time.
"Abayomi is a nice name for a mango". So said a customer the day before we arrived at the fruit stand. (She thought my name tag was for a mango, not the box.) Perhaps she is a prophet, I dunno. But given the politics behind all these mango names - and there is lots there - I'll skip that one too.
Back to mangoes. Verna pulled out some new stuff for me including Brite Bite. But no sign of Yi Xuan. BSbullie brought it to the forum's attention some years ago and I've been seeking it since. Walter told me in 2018 that it tends to split on the tree and thus he didn't favor it. I brought it up again and he said he had intent to chop the tree down due to the splitting issues. Wandering around, rummaging through odds and ends...boom...he finds the last Yi Xuan.
Its big, like Pineapple Pleasure size. Verna advised letting it go a bit before eating but also confessed, she sees nothing special about it and wondered why BSB liked it so much. I was in heaven, having dreamed of this mango for months.
So this eve, I see it developing spoilage at Yi Xuan's stem end and decide its time. A slice revealed dark yellow flesh. It was firm silk. First taste and yes, I have to agree with BSB - this is worthy of attention. Sweet. Dense. It reminded me of a blend of Bombay's density with Pineapple Pleasure's flavor profile (fruity but not as pineapply). Almost as thick as cheese. I know Squam has it among his collection but will put in a call anyway...save the tree....
Gary was a runt but what little was there was pretty good. Not much to say.
Taralay was going too far on ripeness but her smooth texture somewhat redeemed. Not super sweet but pleasing. Beautiful pink blush on one side, not something I see often with it, usually all yellow.
All told, for what may be Yi Xuan's last...it placed first.
Tomorrow sees Pineapple Pleasure, Dupuis, Florigon, Hindi Bessanara, Sugarloaf, Jehengar, Brite Bite, PPK and maybe Phoenix.
