Californian & Mexican Over Ecuadorian Mangoes

Readers of this blog already know my love of mangoes. I recently picked up a flat of 8 mangoes at my local Costco, which normally has Californian or Mexican mangoes on-hand. It being December, the only place left to get them would be the tropics, and the Costco buyer selected Ecuador for this shipment. Not local, higher carbon foot print, yes yes... but mangoes are irresistible to this Pole.

So these Freska Mangoes (Oxnard CA, 93030, www.freskaproduce.com, USDA Aphis Hot Water treated lot 801, item # 83303, UPC 033383402116) are all very hard and un-ripe when I bring them home, so I leave them to sit on the kitchen counter. You can tell a good mango's ripeness by the smell, with a deep inhale. These were far from ripe. Then, 2 days later, BAM, 2 of the 8 started to soften and turn to mush suddenly. I rushed the remaining 6 into the fridge, and cut up to salvage what I could of the suddenly overly ripened fruits. I found them to be rather flavorless, fibrous, and just not very spectacular mangoes, compared to the Daniella Mexican mangoes last September. Over the next week, one by one, I brought out each of the remaining 6, having hope for each fruit that visually appeared to be fine, almost - sorta smelled maybe ripe, but was disappointed with each new slicing.

Californian & Mexican Over Ecuadorian mangoes, any day. The shipping time, logistics, and early picking, probably have much to do with the lack of ripeness, lack of deliciousness, and inferior quality. Next time, I'll know better.