The Mango Kings

It's mango season in South Florida. From June through September, these tropical, handsome fruits bejewel the back-yard groves and orchards there. Fruit stands spring up along roadsides, selling softball-size mangoes for as little as two for $1. At the height of the season, this luxurious fruit is so abundant that I cut mangoes into my breakfast cereal, whir them into milkshakes and generally pig out on a fruit that has become for me the saving grace of the steamy Floridian summer. In California, mango lovers must search out the fruit in grocery stores and farmers markets, but they are abundant now.

Novelist Tom Robbins has likened mango to a "ripe peach doused with kerosene." The first part of his description is accurate: A ripe mango does have a peachy fragrance and sweetness. The sweetness is balanced by a musky tartness that some people compare to pineapple.

And many mango varieties (especially the Asian ones) do, indeed, have a kerosene or turpentine aftertaste. This quality is highly prized, for instance, in India, where mangoes are so popular that up to 1,000 varieties are grown.

To Floridians, mango means one of a half dozen varieties, all of them sweet, fruity and intensely flavored. The most famous is the large, round, sweet Hayden mango, named for Capt. John J. Hayden, who first planted them in Coconut Grove in 1902. The most popular commercial mango is the Tommy Atkins, a big, oval, bright red fruit with a fine flavor but sometimes fibrous flesh.

Extensive plantings in the Caribbean and Central and South America mean mangoes are available virtually year round, but to my mind, nothing beats a Florida mango at the height of the season. Thanks to varying ripening times, mango lovers can enjoy Florida mangoes from the end of May through September.

Early ripeners include the Tommy Atkins and the Florigan. Mid-June brings a red, medium-size, peach-flavored mango called the Van Dyke. July ushers in my personal favorite, a large, red-skinned, lusciously tart and virtually fiber-free mango called the Kent. Another mid-summer treat is the Palmer, an elongated, S-shaped mango with yellowish flesh and a flavor that hints at papaya. August brings a huge, oval, pink- or orange-tinged, sweet, mild-tasting mango called Keitt, which will carry into September.

When buying mangoes, look for unblemished fruits free of shriveled skin or soft spots. Mangoes are usually picked green and will ripen if left at room temperature (so don't put unripe mangos in the refrigerator). Ripen them in a sealed paper bag.