The Joy of Mangoes

We love mangoes at our house. We don’t eat them often, but when we do it usually elevates the status of the meal into something a little like a feast. That lunchtime or dinnertime almost always ends with sticky, happy grins (and afterward, extended times of flossing … getting every last bit of juicy goodness off of those seeds is hard work!).

When I was growing up, mangoes were always an important part of my Australian summer. I come from a long line of mango enthusiasts. My parents would buy them by the case-full as soon as they were in season. There is even a “Big Mango” in Australia. I consider it a national treasure. For Erin, mangoes were a much rarer occurrence. Now, as a family we are finding a balance, but truly we just can’t get enough of them. 🙂

It’s summer, and we had mangoes for lunch yesterday. There are four more sitting by the coffeemaker. Our daughters couldn’t believe we had eight mangoes in the house at the same time! Whatever else lunch consists of today doesn’t really matter. With mangoes it WILL be a feast.

We love mangoes so much that they got their own chapter in the second Growly book, Widewater. After a harrowing race through a storm on the ocean, it’s a chapter on the simple joy of stumbling across an unexpected treasure and sharing it with a friend.

Here’s a few interesting facts about mangoes:

• They belong to the cashew family of flowering plants, which also includes poison ivy!
• More mangoes are eaten every day around the world than any other fruit.
• They contain as much vitamin C as an orange.
• Mango trees can grow up to 130 ft. tall, and can continue bearing fruit for over 300 years!

There’s a lot more that could be said about mangoes:  poems, stories, songs (we need a mango opera), perhaps even a T.V. series. Who knows? For our family though, they will be showing up at lunch, and because of that our lunch for today is a feast.

What are you feasting on this summer?