What is a mango? Trick question. The answer depends upon context. In India, these juicy native fruits are deeply ingrained in both culture and cuisine. Global diffusion presents an interesting study in political economy. British ruling classes encountered mangos while stationed in India. Recipes for "mock" mangos were created back home because the fruit did not thrive in northern climes. 18th-19th century English "mangos" were essentially local pickle recipes inspired by Indian practice. Crafted to look like real mangos, they were composed with common muskmelons, peaches, and cucumbers. English settlers brought this dish to the American colonies; adventurous New World cooks added sweet peppers, small watermelons, and tomatoes to the mango menu.
The hills of north-eastern India adjoining Myanmar are the likely Centre of origin of the mango. Wild varieties still exist there, besides several other related species. In fact, the amrataka, even now called the wild mango but belonging to a closely related species, Spondia pinnata, is also mentioned in the Brihadaranyaka Samhita. In Tamil, the fruit is called manga, or man-kai. The Tamil word manga was first used in a European tongue in AD 1510 by Ludovico di Varthema. The current term “mango” was used for the first time in AD 1673. Grafting (Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together.) Was first used on the mango by the Portuguese. Mughal patronage also played a notable part in encouraging mango grafting. Noblemen could have all their revenues remitted by raising orchards. Mangoes of high quality were collected from all over India and grown by Muqarnas Khan in his garden in Kirana. Down the centuries, the selection of a superior variety that arouse spontaneously, and its later perpetuation by grafting, let do nearly a thousand varieties of mango.
Symbolism & mythology
Inevitably, myth and legend have accrued around the ancient mango tree. It is thought by some Hindus to be a transformation of Prajapati himself, the progenitor of all creatures. Buddhists consider it sacred because the Buddha was accustomed to rest in a mango grove gifted to him by an admirer. On another occasion, the Buddha ate a mango fruit, planted the stone and washed his hands over it, a beautiful white mango tree sprang forth bearing flowers and fruit; it was looked after carefully, as shown in a tender medallion sculpted in Bharhut. In one legend, form a mango fruit appeared a daughter of Surya, the sun god, who was recognized by a king as his wife from a previous birth. The long racemes bearing mango flowers symbolize the darts of Kamadeva, the god of love. The literary record is ancient. The Rigveda itself mentions saha, but whether this is the term sahakara used for the mango in later literature is uncertain. From its very first mention as amra in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 1000 BC) the virtues of the mango fruit have been extolled for three thousand years."
Global Diffusion
The mango was first made known to the outside world, it is said, by the Chinese traveler Hwen T'sang who visited India in the 1st century AD, after which cultivation of the mango generally spread eastwards...By the 10th century AD cultivation of Macrochlamys Indica had spread as far west as Persia, where it stopped. Although the Egyptian climate would have been suitable From India the mango was spread by the Portuguese, who took it to Africa in the 16th century. It reached Brazil and the West Indies in the 18th century, and Hawaii, Florida, and Mexico in the 19th century. Also worth a mention
the famous Alexander the great have also savored and praised mango, during their conquests to the country. Mughal emperor Akbar is also believed to have planted almost 100,000 mango trees in Darbhanga (now Bihar). Safe to say Mangos were and still are considered to be the king fruit.
In the new world (mangoes) were first introduced into Brazil, for the seeds were brought thence to Barbados in the middle of the last century. A French vessel was carrying some young trees from Bourbon to Saint Domingo in 1782, when it was taken by the English, who took them to Jamaica, where they succeeded wonderfully. When the coffee plantations were abandoned, at the time of the emancipation of the slaves, the mango, whose stones the (slaves) scattered everywhere, formed forests in every part of the islands, as these are now valued for their shade and as a form of food. Brazil (now) produces mangos all year round, but the peak season lasts from October to January. The company Agrodan is the biggest producer of Brazilian mangos and is responsible for approximately 20% off all mango exports to Europe.
In the United States, the mango was first planted in Florida in 1889, when only a single variety was available, the Indian mulgoba; today Florida grows more than fifty different mangos, some originally imported, come developed on the peninsula itself--among them the red mango...the green mango...and the mango, no adjective, which is colorless, or as nearly colorless as a fruit can be: it is an abashed low-keyed gray-violet.
So, what Is Mango- Pickle?
Now you may be wondering what on earth am I talking about?!?! Don’t worry I’m not going to leave you hanging so here are the Anglo-Indian recipes.
Mango pickle 1860 recipe
Take one hundred fine unripe mangoes; peel and partly divide them through the shell, to remove the seed from the inside; sprinkle them well with salt and let them like in a large tub or other vessel for twenty-four hours. In the meantime, take two bottles of vinegar, and four ounces of ground turmeric, boil this about a quarter of an hour on a slow fire, then remove. Have ready one seer of dry chilies, one seer of green ginger cut and sliced, and one pound of mustard seed cleaned of all husk, with four ounces of garlic; mix these ingredients with the mangoes, and stuff some inside; then pour the vinegar and turmeric over the whole. Should the vinegar not be enough to cover the mangoes, more must be added to fill up the jar or cask.
Now there is another recipe dating in 1898……
1898 Mango Pickle
This one seems to more on the simpler side, Peel and half split 50 unripe mangoes. Remove the stones; fill, and cover with salt. In two days wipe dry with a cloth. Fill with the following mixture: Green ginger, 16 units (solid). Salt, garlic, of each 6 unites. Chilies and mustard seed, each 2 units. Cardamoms, 1/2 unit. Boil 70 units of vinegar with 32 of sugar, 1 of ginger, and 1/2 of pounded saffron. When cold pour over the mangoes and bottle."
English adaptations
1769
"To pickle Mango. Take the largest cucumbers you can get before they are too ripe or yellow at the ends. Then cut a piece out of the side and take out all the seeds with an apple scraper or teaspoon and put them into a very strong salt and water for eight or nine days, or till they are very yellow. Stir them very well two or three times each day, then put them into a brass pan with a large quantity of vine leaves both under and over them. Beat a little rock alum very fine and put it in the salt and water that they came out of. Pour it upon your cucumbers and set it upon a very slow fire for four or five houses till they are green, then take them out and drain them on a hiar sieve. When the are cold, put to them a little horseradish, then mustard seed, two or three heads of garlic, a few peppercorns, slice a few green cucumbers in small pieces, then horseradish, and the same as before mentioned till you have filled them. Then take the piece you cut out and sew it on with a large needle and thread, ad do all the rest the same way. Have ready your pickle: To every gallon of alegar put one ounce of made, the same of cloves, two ounces of ginger sliced, the same of long pepper, black pepper, Jamaica pepper, three ounces of mustard seed tied up in a bag, four ounces of garlic, and a stick of horseradish cut in slices. Boil them five minutes in the alegar, then pour it upon your pickles, tie them down, and keep them for use."
1805
"To Pickle Melon Mangoes. Take as many green melons as you want, and slit them two-thirds up the middle, and with a spoon take all the seeds out; put them in strong spring-water and salt for twenty four hours, then drain them in a sieve; mix half a pound of white mustard, two ounces of long pepper, the same of all-spice, half an ounce of cloves and mace, a good quantity of garlic, and horseradish cut in slices, and a quarter of an ounce of Cayenne pepper; fill the seed holes full of this mixture; put a small skewer through the end, and tie it round with pack thread close to the skewer, put them in a jar, and boil up in vinegar with some of the mixture in it, and pour over the melons. Cover them down close, and let them stand till next day, then green them the same way as you do gherkins. You may do large cucumbers the same way. Tie them down close when cold and keep them for use."
Needless to say, mangos are pretty interesting in a historical perspective. I never thought I’d be here today explaining the origin of a mango stone fruit. But here I am. Do we need to all know this about a fruit? Probably not. But I believe it is good to know where things come from. Honestly, I was surprised and excited to learn about this. Seriously they don’t teach this stuff at school. I say the more you know the more interesting a person may get. Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed this article!
sources
Fruit of the mango tree...
---A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K. T. Acharya [Oxford University Press: Delhi] 1998 (p. 139-140)
Symbolism & mythology
Historical Dictionary of Indian Food (p. 139)
Global diffusion
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press: Oxford] 1999 (p. 475)
New World
---Origin of Cultivated Plants, Alphonse De Candolle [Hafner Publishing: New York] 1959 (p. 202)
USA
Eating in America: A History, Waverly Root & Richard de Rochemont [William Morrow: New York] 1976 (p. 298)
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