MmmmmMangooo…

Recently the secret of opening a mango was revealed to me and it has been a revelation indeed. I am sure that some of you already knew how to maximize the amount of flesh you can procure from the seed, but thanks to Gary and Rita Stevens, my ability to enjoy this fruit more fully has leapt forward. Before learning this technique I would seek out frozen mangoes to make smoothies with to avoid having to cut and frustrate myself with the wasting of fruit. The mangoes available at Costco as of late have been perfectly ripe and wonderful to work with. I have been enjoying them on their own and it’s really great to experience the subtlety of fresh versus frozen. I also enjoy mango salsa with chips and have found that there are many variations available on the web to draw from. If you are looking to make one simply choose according to your preference of tomato, pepper, or avocado ratio. I have found that mango salsa on perfectly seared salmon is a wonderful flavor burst. This I learned at Southside Bistro in Anchorage, the first restaurant I ever felt cooked salmon to rival my Mother’s.

Below is a depiction that I hope will help you with your mango cutting technique if you find yourself wanting in that department:

Start by orienting the mango so that you notice the top pointing left or right. The seed is flat and if you cut perpendicular to the curve, you will be cutting against the flat side. Start from the top and place your knife just off of center. Cut straight down and feel for the seed as you cut.

Again, notice the curve. Stand the fruit upright again and make the same cut on the opposite side. You should be left with a narrow center cut with some fruit around the pit. Getting this fruit off of the pit is sort of catch as catch can, but if you have made your cuts well, you will not have very much fruit left on the pit.

Score the two fleshy sides without cutting all the way through the skin. Turn the skin inside out and you will have pieces of mango that are easily scraped off of the skin for whatever purpose you have in mind.

If you are looking for a wine to go with mango, I believe that I have found one to accompany plain mango, mango salsa with chips, and mango salsa on salmon. Dönnhoff Estate Riesling Trocken is a Terry Thiese selection that is imported and distributed by Michael Skurnik Wines. The wine is easily approachable and affordable and available in Alaska at The Brown Jug Warehouse. There is just enough residual sweetness to stand up to the sweetness of the fruit and this will also work well if you choose to go heavy on the jalapeño in your salsa. Here are the shelf talker notes on Skurnik’s feature page for the wine: “It’s a lovely murmuringly smooth wine with length, a hint of fennel and a low note of stone. Best if you drink it good and cool, but not ice cold.” In Terry Thiese book Reading Between the Wines Helmut Dönnhoff stated, “I hope my wines convey a story, …otherwise they’re just things, bottles of wine.” I love having a good sense of story to go with my food and wine.

Mel