weet, sunny mangos are celebrated across the globe. During the season in India, it is customary to send boxes of golden mangos to friends and family, which lends refreshing floral sweetness to the yogurt drink mango lassi. The Philippines’ national fruit is the mango; the nation’s pride is the candy-sweet , which takes its name from another important cultural symbol, the Carabao water buffalo. One of the Carabao mango’s descendants is Mexico’s ; the cultivar was introduced to the region via the Manila galleon trade. While Japan’s mangos are a variety of the common cultivar called the Irwin, they are wildly expensive because of the way they are grown—farmers encase each of the mangos in a small protective net and then leave the fruits to fall off the tree on their own to ensure perfect ripeness. In Thailand, ripe and mangos make for sweet snacks or desserts, while mangos are eaten green, crunchy, and sour, served with salt and chili powder or nam pla waan, a sweetened fish sauce–based dip. The mango of Florida is fibrous and mild, but its hardiness has made it an American grocery store staple. One doesn’t need a juicer, or even a knife, to enjoy the sweet nectar of India and Pakistan’s prized mango—simply massage the fruit to break down the flesh, cut a small hole in the top, and slurp the juices out.
