The festive season brings many enjoyable treats into our lives, and for the last 11 years one favourite regular event is getting mangoed-out with a big tray of ripe, fresh mangoes. The guy I work for, Don, has made a very welcome tradition of giving each of his staff a hamper of Christmas goodies that's always topped with a tray of mangoes, and this year was no exception. Thank you Don!
This is the 2009 tray of Bowen mangoes, and it smells as lovely as it looks. Bringing it home from the office yesterday, the car was filled with tropical mango scents.
They're ripening fast and we won't be able to eat them all, so our friends always share in the bounty. Pam's making a mango dessert to take to a get-together tonight. Not sure what's in it but she asked me to buy some white rum and shredded coconut yesterday, and that's all I know. While it's possible to grow mangoes here in Sydney it's a bit too cool to do it well, and crops can take up to two years to mature, and they're not a patch on the real tropical mangoes. So I don't bother. But each summer I feast on mangoes, and one of my favourite recipes is the simplest. Cheater's mango ice-cream. Very simple, and very deliciously mangoey at the same time.
Cheater’s mango ice-cream
2/3 to 3/4 of a tub of plain vanilla ice-cream, softened almost to room temperature
the flesh of 2 ripe mangoes
Let the ice-cream soften till it’s almost runny. Puree the flesh of the mangoes in a food processor. Stir the pureed mango into the ice-cream and mix it in well. Put into the freezer.
After 2 hours, take the ice-cream out of the freezer and whip the ice-cream, to break up the ice crystals. Re-freeze. After another hour or so, do the same thing again, whipping the almost-frozen ice-cream. That should make the ice-cream nice and smooth.
12 comments:
They looks so so so good and what a lovely christmas present! I get a few from the vic markets, quite cheap, and cut them up into small portions and put them into the freezer for smoothies. Last mango I got filled 6 freezer bags! Enjoy the spoils of summer.
oh - if only, my boyfriend is on the gold coast with a laden mango tree as i sit is chilly scotland with frozen brussel sprouts - no comparison really. hope you enjoy them, any extra, you can fed-ex them to me :o)
they look very yummy
Has our 'king' abdicated his throne and made it to Australia? Mango is the national fruit, fondly referred to as the 'King of Fruits' here in India. It rules out taste buds in dozens of varieties all through summer (April to August). Enjoy while we wait our turn!
Our Christmas is going to be full of mangoes too! My friends from Asia gave me a package full of mangoes in different kinds and I love it!
The Mangoes sure do look delicious. We call this mangoes variety ... GULAB (Rose) KHAS ( Special) for there Rosey tints :):) Btw I spotted a lot of Mango trees growing along the roadside close to the Esplanade, in Cairns during our recent trip to Australia ... however didn't spot a single tree in Sydney :(
We have our own grove back home in India... so i have a special interest in Mangoes n its diff varieties. Thx for the pict... i am a big Mango Fan :)
Thank you Pam & Jamie for the rum-laden dessert of mangoes and coconut and for leaving a couple of the juicy sweet fruit on our fruit bowl! See you again soon!
Jolanda, Paul and Elina xxx
Your boss would find huge favour in this house.
Mango season is awaited eagerly my all of us. The very first ones are eaten nude in the pool.
There is nothing else to compare with mangos as a fruit, I think, their sweet unique flavour, colour, texture and juiciness are sublime...love the mango icecream idea too.
This reminds me of visiting my cousins in North Queensland. My grandparents had a huge mango tree in their backyard, always laden with fruit at Christmas time when we were there. My cousins used to pick the mangoes from the trees on their cane farm and pack them up for sale. Strangely enough, I've never cared much for them, but my boys just LOVE them.
Hope this year's tray is just as beautiful.
Thanks for Rewinding at the Fibro. :-)
What a lovely offering from your boss! Mangoes are such a summer/Christmas icon.
I was just thinking of mangoes today. I have my brother-in-law and his wife coming from NYC this week. They both crave mangoes and find them hard to get.
I always make some sort of pudding with mangoes (this year it will be a sort of Mango Eton Mess typer arrangement). They spend the whole time pulling th mangoes out of the fridge and smelling them!
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