Mango facts: - The best mangoes available in North America are Kents from Mexico. Keitts from California take second place, but only just. - If you've eaten mango and you think you don't like them because they stabbed your tongue, you've eaten a Tommy Atkins mango, the worst mangoes ever. They're the most common breed available in North America. Mr. Atkins was not a nice man and developed a mango engineered to ship well (due to it's highly fibrous tissue) with little flavor that has an exceptionally long shelf life, beautiful color and uniform shape. They are bright red and almost perfectly egg shaped. But like a well shaped, beautiful woman, when you see one, your first concern should be how they were raised and what's on the inside. - Never buy unripe mangos that have been/are being refrigerated. Mangoes continue to ripen after they are picked from the tree.

They also begin to rot as soon as they are picked. Refrigerating a mango will suspend it's ripening process but not it's rotting process. If they are refrigerated unripe for too long, once removed from refrigeration, they will rot before they become ripe. However, after it becomes ripe, a mango can be safely refrigerated for two weeks. - In the southern United States, mangoes typically take forever only 2-3 weeks to fully ripen after you buy them.

This basically means, when you have the opportunity to buy one, you need to be able to tell the future and know if you'll want one in a couple of weeks. Over this time they will shrink slightly as the flesh condenses, becoming sweet. -A fully ripe mango will be soft, slightly wrinkled and have a sweet odor. Think of your grandmother on Mother's Day. The flesh inside will resemble ripe cantaloupe meat and be just as sweet & orange. See the paper color of this print for a reference. Pale yellow mango flesh IS NOT RIPE. - Honestly, mangoes are way more trouble than they're worth to most people.

Not only do you have to be aware of all of the above but you also have to cut them up in a special way. Yes, really. Mangoes have pits and are a "cling seed" fruit. This means, unlike peaches and cherries, the pit is stuck to the flesh and must be carefully cut around to remove the edible portion. Here's how to do it. - The best way to eat mangos is with lime juice, some powdered red pepper and finely ground pistachios.

65lb cover | 22" x 33" Edition of 50

Illustration and lettering by J.Gilman