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Mango Piñata

I remember the mango tree we had in our back yard when I was growing up in South Florida. The only thing better than the sweet aroma of those red-ripe mangos was the rich juicy flavor of the mango itself when you tasted it. Getting them when they were just ripe was the problem.

Mangos fall off the tree when they are ripe. They will continue to ripen while on the ground as they transform from a yellow to an intense and deep red color reaching their opus of tropical fruit perfection. But while on the ground the mangos could pass their prime very quickly as they turn black and spoil, especially in the heat of the tropical climates were they are born.

As a young child I developed a system to get the mangos when they were at their peak…a long stick. I learned that if you tap the mangos that appeared ready to drop lightly with a stick, the ones that were ready would drop. You then simply picked them up and assured yourself a piece of fruit nirvana. This system of mango piñata served me well until I moved out of my childhood home and to cooler climates were mangos do not grow. It is a memory of my childhood that I fondly cherish. I still like mangos and get them at the grocery store like the rest of us, but the challenge of beating the mango tree at its game made the fruit all that much better!

Years later when I met my Nicaraguan wife, I witnessed her eating green, unripe mangos with salt, occasionally with hot peppers as well.  I tried it myself, but the taste never caught my attention. Apparently, however, this is a common and beloved practice. The beauty of it all is that there is much to learn from different cultures. Like the fruits on the trees we are part of the same root bearing wonderful experiences ready to fall off and be shared.