Mango season

March through May is mango season in Oaxaca and oh, what a treat! The mangos are so plentiful that you can just walk right up to a tree and pull a ripe mango off -- no waiting for it to ripen on the kitchen counter.

The mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family. Other distant relatives include the cashew, pistachio, Jamaica plum, poison ivy and poison oak.

A mango tree can grow up to 100 feet. Mexico ships approximately 1.9 million tons of mangos every year. So the chances are good that the mango that you eat in the U.S. has come from Mexico.


More mangos are eaten fresh all over the world than any other fruit. One way to eat mangos that is quite popular in Oaxaca is to cut it and put it on a stick. Most of the time chili powder is also sprinkled on the mango before eating it.

Even green mangos can be used. They make a pie that tastes surprisingly like apple pie.

There are at least 30 different varieties of mangos in the world. Mexico grows about 6 different varieties. They are all delicious but my favorite? The mangos pictured above--ataulfo mangos.