Mango Mangifera indica. The mango has a long and distinguished history. A native of India, it has been cultivated for around 4,000 years and, according to Hindu mythology, it once enclosed the daughter of the sun and Buddha was said to have reposed in a mango grove. Akbar the Great (1556-1605), planted an orchard of 100,000 mangoes near Darbhanga in northern India, assuring and confirming the value of this already important fruit to the country's culture and theology. Travellers to the subcontinent, however, displayed mixed reactions to this unique and exotic fruit. Dr John Fryer, who visited India with the East India Company during the 1670's claimed, "When ripe, the Apples of the Hesperides are but Fables to them, for taste, the Nectarine, Peach and Apricot fall short." But, speaking very plainly for the other side, Fanny Parkes remarks in her Wanderings of a Pilgrim in Search of the Picturesque (1832), “I was disgusted with them, all those to be had at the time being stringy, with a strong taste of turpentine.” The Sanskrit name for the mango was amra from which the Chinese derived their an-mo-lo. Its English name is from manga, used by the Portuguese who occupied Goa, which, in turn was a corruption of the original Tamil, mankay. A member of the ever green Anarcardiaceae family, which includes the cashew, pistachio, American poison Ivy and the pepper tree, there are currently 41 varieties of mango grown world-wide. The fruit is oval or kidney-shaped, with a smooth skin, which varies in colour from green through yellow to orange and red, sometimes displaying a pretty crimson blush, although this is no indication as to the ripeness of the fruit. The flesh is yellow or orange and contains a large, flat stone, and the fruit can vary in weight between 255g (1/21b) to lkg (21b). It is notoriously difficult to eat, as the skin is impossible to remove if taken in the wrong direction. The almost universal answer to this problem seems to be to slice the fruit in half lengthways, sliding past the stone, scoring the flesh at diagonals, then turning each half inside out to form a ‘hedgehog’ of bite-sized cubes. Although true aficionados just soften the mango between their hands, taking care not to split the skin, then make a small hole in the top through which they suck out all the juice. Another drawback to clean mango consumption is that the fruit is undoubtedly at its best when ‘dribbly-juicy’, making it the ideal bath-time snack. This is also one of the reasons we can’t get the best in this country, as it only ripens to such perfection on the tree. Luckily, March marks the beginning of the season for the best Indian mangoes, and the king of these, the Alphonso, and although you do have to search to find them in the shops here, you can get them - at a price! India produces an amazing 10 million tonnes of mangoes every year, although, because of the massive domestic demand for the fruit, it only exports about a quarter of these. Chinese medicine, which regards the diet as a way of balancing health, uses mango to relieve indigestion, ease the symptoms of asthma and to soothe bleeding gums. They advise against eating the fruit after a heavy meal, though, as it tends to swell the stomach and also warn against mixing mango with onion and garlic, as it may cause skin itching. For fibre and vitamins, the mango is hard to beat. Packed with beta-carotene, the vegetable form of vitamin A - over 1½ times the RDA, a full day's supply of vitamin C for a non-smoking adult, a good amount of potassium and an average-sized fruit supplies 7g of dietary fibre. Beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant, which may protect against certain types of cancer and atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack and stroke, as does vitamin C, which also helps the body to stave off infection. The dietary fibre is known to maintain bowel regularity, protecting against colon and rectal cancers. However, there is always a viper in paradise: an average mango contains 14% sugar, which, when consumed regularly, is not only bad news for the diet, but for that shiny white smile, too. Amchur, the vitamin C-rich powdered form, is sun-dried mango, ground for use in cooking to add sourness. Ayurveda recommends this easily-digested food-stuff for the elderly, the weak and infirm and for excess of Vata (wind). It is described as soothing colitis and improving the complexion. Another recommended remedy is to grind the roasted stone to make a cure for diarrhoea. Also, ladies beware! In India, it is said that you can tell that a woman is expecting a baby when she starts craving raw mango!