Welcome to our delicious mango haven. Your first bite of us will have our sticky, sweet juice running down your face. Mangoes are a prized Aussie summer tropical fruit known as the “king of fruits”. When ripe, we have a fragrant aroma. Our mouth-watering flesh lends sweetness to fresh salads and desserts and is perfect to eat on a hot day. Plus, we’re perfect for you as we’re rich in vitamin C, antioxidants and dietary fibre.
Originally from India, we now grow in the northern parts of Australia and many tropical regions worldwide. We’re a plump round or kidney-shaped fruit. Our skin is not edible and comes in different colours, such as orange, red, green and yellow, depending on the variety and ripeness. When ripe, our soft flesh is usually yellow or orange and surrounds a large, flat, inedible seed.
We're available from September to March with our best value being from November to January.
We’re generally sold by variety. Take a look at us; we have an unusual collection of names,
Kensington Pride
This is the most common variety in Australia. It has succulent, juicy flesh with a sweet, tangy flavour. When ripe, it has a yellow-orange skin tinged with a light pink blush and will smell fragrant. It’s in season from September to March.
Calypso 
This mango has yellow-orange skin with a deep pink blush. It has sweet, juicy, firm flesh and small seed. It’s in season from September to March.
R2E2
This is a large round mango with orange skin with a red blush. It has firm flesh and a sweet, fresh flavour. It’s in season from October to February.
Honey Gold
This is a sweet, firm-fleshed mango with a dark red blush. It’s in season from January to March.
Some other varieties are;
Keitt is not as sweet as other varieties; it has firm yellow-orange flesh.
Nam Dok Mai is an Asian variety often eaten green and in Asian salads
Palmer mangoes boast a sweet flavour, firm texture, all-over dark red blush, and orange flesh and are typically small to medium-sized.
Pearl is a late-season variety, named for their beautiful pearl-flecked skin; they are juicy fruits characterised by their small to medium size and ovate shape, boasting deep orange skin
Brooks is the last variety of the Aussie season; it has a green-coloured skin, so to identify ripe fruit, look for a tinge of yellow and a softening of the skin.
When ripe, we're an excellent source of vitamin C, beta carotene and other valuable members of the carotenoid family that help protect your body against disease. The deeper the colour of our flesh, the higher our carotenoid levels.
We also supply dietary fibre that helps to keep your digestion system healthy.
We’re a good source of potassium. That's handy because potassium helps balance the sodium we get from eating salty foods.
An average 200g serving of mango (the equivalent of less than one mango) provides you with up to three times your recommended daily intake of vitamin C and Vitamin A. 100g of the flesh has 230kJ.
As I said, we're a tropical fruit that likes a warm climate to grow. We can be grown from seeds, cuttings or grafted saplings. We need a lot of space, full sun and deep, well-drained, compost-rich soil to grow.
Mango trees produce pink flowers that are pollinated by insects, wind, or hand. We mature and hang down on long stalks and are ready to pick when we change colour and give off a mango aroma. Our parent trees start bearing fruit between 3 and 5 years of age. The fruit can be eaten fresh or processed.
We're picked with the aid of a picking device that includes cutting shears attached to a large pole and a bag and catch us.
When picking us ripe at your greengrocer, we should feel firm but slightly soft when gently squeezed. Firmer mango will take a few days to ripen fully.
The pink blush on some varieties is not an indicator of ripeness.
Skin colour should be characteristic of the variety. Avoid any with black or soft spots.
When you get home, keep mangoes on your kitchen bench out of the sun until they ripen, when they will feel just soft to the touch. Store ripe fruit in your fridge. Use within 3 days.
We've been growing in India for 4000 years, but it's thought that we may have originated in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Portuguese traders took us to Africa and Brazil. In the 18th century, we were found growing in the West Indies and other parts of South America.
By the 1800s, during the early years of European settlement, we had found our way to Australia, where we have grown ever since.
Wash your mangoes before eating or cutting them.
There are a few ways of preparing mangoes: slice off the mango cheeks, hold the mango stem end up on a board, and slice down as close to the stone as possible.
You can scrape or scoop out the flesh using a glass or spoon, peel, and slice or chop the flesh.
To honeycomb mango, cut off the mango cheeks (see above). Place the mango cheek flesh-side up on a board. Using a knife, cut 3-4 lines down each cheek and 3-4 times across the cheek (but don’t cut through the skin). Hold the edges of the cheek and turn it inside out to press the flesh open. It’s ready to eat!
Make a mango smoothie.
Add mango to muffins, trifles, tarts and cakes.
Serve sliced mango on toast with ricotta or cottage cheese and a squeeze of honey for breakfast.
Add mango to fruit salads and savoury salads with chicken, prawns and leafy greens.
Barbecue or char-grill mango cheeks.
Serve sliced mango on a pavlova with a drizzle of passionfruit for a magical, sweet dessert.
Try these sweet and delicious mango recipes from Sydney Markets;
https://www.freshforkids.com.au/recipe/tropical-fruit-smoothie-bowls.html
https://www.freshforkids.com.au/recipe/summer-fruit-toast-toppers.html
https://www.freshforkids.com.au/recipe/mango-and-lemon-curd-tart.html
https://www.freshforkids.com.au/recipe/mango-passionfruit-and-raspberry-cream-trifle.html