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hmhausman

Fairchild Mango Festival 2010

hmhausman
13 years ago

Thought I would open a thread for those that went to the festival to share experiences. I was there....but ever so briefly. I was first in line at the tree sales and picked up a San Felipe, Emerald, Langra Benarsi and Manalita. Strolled briefly through the main festival area and then left. It was pretty darned hot and the crowds were already building and I got what I wanted so off I went. What did anyone else get and please feel free to rub it in if I missed something real interesting or tasty.

Harry

Comments (60)

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'll be most interested to hear reports about how the mangoes that were purchased turned out. Specifically, whether the fruit ripened properly and how the fruits were if they did ripen properly. The problem with these big festivals is that they have to put together a big show of fruit. That doesn't necessarily equal to obtaining fruit that was picked at the peak of perfection. Many times, only in the door yard setting can that be achieved with consistancy. Best of luck to those that purchased fruit. Please let us know how your fruit was. Here are some photos taken by my friend Noel Ramos at the festival. You can always count on Noel to capture the essence of the scene.

    One of the few jakfruit trees in fruit at Fairchild.

    Noel, gleefully grasping two handfuls of Ford mango. Large fruited, but not supposed to ba anything to write home about flavor-wise.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Missed one of Noel's other shots.....the mangosteen fruiting in the Whtiman Pavillion:

  • puglvr1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Mango kush, those Jackfruit stuff you made looks delicious!

    Swrancher...the prices on those Mango auctions were INSANE!! Tommy Atkins for $60 when they sell for .88 or two for a $1.00 at the grocer store,lol...I hope they went to a great charity.

    Great Pictures Harry!! Wow, those Ford mangoes are the biggest I've ever seen in my life!! Just amazing. I've never even heard of them till today!

  • enduser
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Can anyone tell me what the 3-gallon, 7-gallon mango trees were selling for?

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    They were only sold in 3 gallon pots. The price $35.

  • swrancher
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I bought a few Fairchild variety Mangos and they are the best mango I have had this year, awesome!!!I also got some Jean Ellen mangos and they are at best, just so-so. I also had a few Chocanon's that were excellent, I'm debating getting that tree. Had a Jubilee that was very very bland. By far the best were the Fairchild Mango which are 10 out of 10 on my mango scale.

  • yaslan
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was just gonna ask if anyone had pics from this mango festival. Wow, it sure does look like mango heaven! Now, all I need to do is make it down there next year!!
    Thanks for the pics Harry!
    Bo

  • mango_nut
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    swrancher,
    Interesting comments on the Jean Ellen and Chocanon. I have chocanon which is about 8 feet tall now. It flowered about a month ago (to no avail) and I was really debating my decision to plant it a couple of years ago. I was planning to give it another year to see what happens and possibly replacing it with a Jean Ellen or Rosigold or some other early variety of mango?

    I presently have a mallika, glenn, nam doc mai, carrie, cogshall, neelum and chocanon. The neelum was my most recent purchase.

    Thanks for the feedback.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I went & had a great time! My first visit. I bought Rosigold, Angie & Manilita trees. I voted for the Sunset mango as my favorite at the tasting. It was crazy crowded & hot, but I had a good time looking around the rest of Fairchild - such beautiful grounds!

    Since I haven't had much opportunity to taste different varieties of mangos (or other tropical fruits), I also bought a lot of fruit to try. I took a whole tropical fruit tour. While in the area I also visited the Fruit & Spice park, Robert is Here, Going Bananas, New River Groves & Excalibur trees.

    At Fairchild I bought a variety of mangos to sample: Jean Ellen, Florigon, Tahar, Herman, OH, BD 19-21, Madame Francis and Bailey's Marvel. Anybody remember what OH stands for? I forget now.

    Thanks Harry for the suggestion of New River Groves. They had Carrie, Valencia Pride and Nam Doc Mai, bought some of each. They also had lychees, hand made fudge and excellent milkshakes.

    Most of the mangos I bought have not fully ripened. So far I have tasted Carrie, Kent, Glenn and Cogshall in addition to what I sampled at Fairchild's tasting. So far I think I like the Kent best. Carrie was crazy sweet, good, but a bit too sweet for me. I like a bit of tartness along with the sweet.

    At Robert is Here I was able to get a huge sampling of tropical fruits: I bought Kent, Edward and FL Red mangos and purple passion fruit, canistel, sapodilla, a piece of jackfruit, white sapote, apple bananas, lychees, Asian Guava and a soursop milkshake.

    I know up until now I've been dying for more descriptions of what stuff tastes like, so I'll give an attempt at describing what they tasted like to my first time palate:

    Passion Fruit - definitely distinct - the fruit punch description I'd heard before was pretty accurate. I liked it a lot. It is very tart by itself. I made it into a milkshake with vanilla ice cream & some sugar. That was awesome.

    Sapodilla - The one I got was overripe I think. Didn't really know how to pick a good one. I didn't care for it much. It was too sweet. In the firmest portion of it, it did taste a lot like a combination of pear/brown sugar. Enough that I could see the appeal of a perfectly ripened one. But for me it is just overpoweringly sweet. I don't much like pears, so not surprising that I didn't like this one. But I had to try all the same=)

    Asian Guava - This was crispy and kind grainy. Like a pear apple in texture. The flavor was a bit tart like an apple but had a more savory component. I think I can best describe it as like touching your tongue to an uncooked tomatillo. I didn't hate this fruit, but didn't overly
    like it either.

    White sapote - The ones I got weren't great. But I could get the idea of what a good one would taste like. Taste was a bit peachy with some vanilla hints. However the one I had was overripe I think. A bit mushy & dry in texture rather than creamy. And it had a lot of resinous, bitter undertones that I didn't care for.

    Canistel - This one tasted to me like very dry pumpkin pie filling. Not that stuff you get out of a can, but if you make your own pumpkin pie from a good sugar pumpkin. Not to my liking for eating out of hand. But I wonder if it would make a nice pie or tart? Anybody got a recipe?

    Soursop (in milkshake) - This was great. I thought it tasted like a combination of lime juice and an underripe, tart nectarine. Delicious combined with vanilla ice cream.

    Jackfruit - It only remotely tasted like juicy fruit gum to me. The initial taste especially, but it had a bit of an aftertaste to it I can't pin down & didn't care for. I also didn't like the texture, both a bit rubbery & slimy.

    Lychee - I'd tasted a few before, and didn't really like them. Turns out, I've never had a good one and it makes a big difference. When I was at Going Bananas I had an Emperor lychee picked right off the tree. It was amazing! The pulp was floral and fruity, crispy & juicy rather than mushy or slimy and a nice mix of sweet and tang in the flavor. I'm now considering getting a lychee tree...

    And lastly, for those of you far away, I also found a mango grove that will ship mangos - Pernas Groves. I received my mangos from them just before heading down to the Mango Festival. I got a sample box with the following varieties shipped to me: Nam Doc Mai, Fairchild, Glenn, Mallika and Choc Anon. They arrived in the mail in excellent condition. A great option for people who can't make it to south FL to buy personally.

    I have pictures of all my fruit, but haven't figured out how to post them yet. I'll try to figure that out tomorrow.

  • jeffhagen
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Excellent informative post, sun_worshiper!

    Harry, did you buy MORE mango trees? Don't you already have like 85 cultivars ... ;-)

    I tried the siamese mango, and I wasn't that impressed. It was a bit bland tasting and the texture was a bit gelatinous. My wife said she liked it, but she likes anything sweet ;-). They sure look cool though!!

    Isn't the 'sunset' one of the new cultivars being tested at Zill's? I vaguely remember Sheehan talkin about that one.

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Carrie mango is my absolute favorite. you may have had an overripe one, their texture and flavor changes completely after being picked ripe and sitting for a too long.

    passionfruit to me tastes alot like lychee, very floral

    Soursop is traditionally made into milkshakes so its not surprising you preferred it prepared.

    Canistel Pie is quite popular

    weird i hear such mixed reviews about emperor lychee, i cant figure it out. which lychee variety did you try previously? i would bet it was Maurititus, they are my least favorite flavor wise

    Jackfruit to me tastes alot like canteloupe, but they vary so much with variety. the texture is kinda rubbery though.

    White Sapote i hear does better in dryer climates like California

    Sapodilla is a bit too sweet for me too, i plan on making an apple type pie with them when i get a good harvest

    what does the "OH" mango look like? are you sure it wasnt labled Ott?

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think the Carrie mango I had was a pretty good one, but certainly I am not an expert, so I'd be happy to try another. It had color when I bought it but was still a little hard. The next day it was softer, so I ate it then. I tend to like tart things, so I think it is just personal preference. I could appreciate the flavor and it was good, just too sweet for me. However, my husband has been along for the ride on my tasting adventure and the Carrie has been his favorite mango so far. Generally he likes sweeter fruits than I do.

    I'd be interested to taste a Soursop fresh - that just wasn't an option this time around.

    I'll have to go looking for a Canistel pie recipe.

    The lychees I had previously were of unknown variety. I had some served in a restaurant in Jamaica - pretty sure from what I know now that they had been previously frozen. Not much flavor & slimy. I have had both fresh & previously frozen ones that somebody brought from their tree to share at the Tropical Fruit Club of Orlando. Good, but not outstanding. Wasn't really until I tasted the Emperor that I started paying attention to type. I picked up some lychees on my way home from roadside vendors - none of which knew what variety they were (and I'm too much of a novice to guess). I think for me it has to do with absolute freshness. The Emperor picked right off the tree was amazing. Some of the roadside unknowns I bought that were still attached to a green leafy branch were my second favorite. And others that I bought that were not attached to a branch and seemed more dried out and older I didn't like as well. So now I'm very keen to taste some others of known variety=)

    Now that you mention it, the jackfruit did have some cantaloupe flavor to it.

    I'll post a picture of the OH mango when I get a chance. Pretty sure it wasn't Ott (I'll look when I get home). I bought it because the vendor said it was a Hawaiian variety that should have flavor similar to a champagne mango. Was a bigger round mango - not at all similar to the look of a champagne mango.

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    ok that makes sense, i was worried because alot of people who dislike carrie eat them too ripe, and they taste like a funky papaya.

    on some days i think i prefer tart things too, Okrung Tong has to be the tartest sweetest mango i have ever tasted, they are incredible.

    lychees to me so far all pretty much have a similar flavor, its the aftertaste, seed to flesh ratio thats most important to me. and of course it has to produce.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The Carrie definitely did not taste like a papaya. I liked it, but liked others a shade more. Rather like rating chocolate or wine, I'd rather have some than none, but ranking several good ones is hard=) I haven't tasted an Okrung Tong, but now I'm very interested in finding one to taste. Sounds great! What other varieties have a sweet/tart combination to you?

    I was wondering how different the lychee varieties tasted. Interesting to know that they taste similar to you. Do you grow lychee mango_kush? Which kinds do you grow if so? I liked the small size of the Emperor tree - would fit into my property easier since I don't have room for that many trees. How hard is it to keep a lychee tree pruned small if it turns out I like the taste of some other variety better that grows on a bigger tree?

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okrung Tong is supposedly the sweetest mango, with the highest brix. they are refreshing like citrus.

    keep in mind these three are not synonymous

    Okrung
    {{gwi:1321344}}

    Okrung Tong
    {{gwi:1321346}}

    Okrung Pikung Tong
    {{gwi:1321347}}

    if you click on my blue screen name it will link you to my homepage and grow list.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    In mango heaven?? Well, almost, check this out.

    Here is a link that might be useful: How to eat a mango

  • puglvr1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Lol...That was pretty funny Harry :o)

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    mango heaven of course would be Holi festival in India where most of the mangos actually do ripen around the same time before the monsoon season. as long as you dont mind getting pink or saffron dust thrown at you in the street.

  • swrancher
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Sun-Worshiper! Based on reading your post I stopped by New River Grove on my lunch today and was able to get a bunch of Edward, Carrie, and Nam Doc Mai mango's. The next week or so will be spent in my Mango heaven...again thanks.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's quite a grow list mango_kush - awesome! Here's a picture of the "OH" mango. You might be right, it might be Ott. What do you think?

    {{gwi:1321348}}

    And here are a few general pictures of all the fruit I brought back with me.

    {{gwi:1321349}}

    {{gwi:1321350}}

    {{gwi:1321352}}

    Can any of you lychee experts tell what kind of lychees these are from looking? They were very tasty, about equal for me to the Emperor I tried. But the vendor I bought them from didn't know the variety.

    swrancher - glad you got some great fruit!

  • pikorazi
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okrung Tong has the highest brix?! Hard to imagine, because the indo-chineso mangos i've eaten so far, were not very sweet..

    i recently got that cultivar from thailand (along with khiao sawoie and rad). maybe next year i can tell you about the taste ;-)

    felipe

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had a mango tasting last night of 8 different varieties - yum!

    {{gwi:1321353}}

    {{gwi:1321356}}

    Sadly, I must report that the Jean Ellen was not just disappointing, but outright bad tasting. Read on for details.

    Based on these specific fruits I ranked them:
    1. Kent, 2. Madame Francis, 3. Champange, 4. Fairchild, 5. Edward, 6. Glenn, 7. Unknown, 8. Jean Ellen

    My husbands ratings were very similar:
    1. Kent, 2. Madame Francis, 3. Edward, 4. Fairchild, 5.Champagne, 6. Glenn, 7. Unknown, 8. Jean Ellen

    In pictures:

    Kent - Sweet with just a hint of tang. A bit peachy. Very juicy. No fiber. Flesh is very soft, but not mushy. Just at the peak of ripeness.
    {{gwi:1321358}}
    {{gwi:1321360}}Madame Francis - The bite I liked at the festival was not a fluke. Liked this one a lot despite the fiber. Sweet, clean with a round, rich taste. Tiny hint of tart. Flavor good enough to eat out of hand despite fiber, but I would certainly buy these for smoothies for the unique flavor. It was unlike any others.
    {{gwi:1321362}}
    {{gwi:1321364}}

    Champagne
    This was my baseline. A variety I know I love. No fiber, super silky flesh, nice mix of sweet & tart flavors.
    {{gwi:1321366}}
    {{gwi:1321368}}

    Fairchild
    As you can see, didn't ripen properly. Started to spoil before perfect ripeness. Even so, very good. Almost indistinguishable from the Champagne. Flavor nearly identical, but it didn't have quite the same silkyness. Not exactly fiberous, but a little less buttery.
    {{gwi:1321369}}
    {{gwi:1321370}}

    Edward - Very sweet, no hint of tartness. Kind of creamy tasting. My husband tasted coconut, I didn't. I think I let this one ripen one day too long or it would have been closer to the top of my list. I have a couple more - can't wait to try them a little less ripe.
    {{gwi:1321371}}
    {{gwi:1321372}}

    Glenn - This specific fruit was underripe, but starting to spoil, so I gave it a try. The previous Glenn I had was better. This one was tart, peachy and simple.
    {{gwi:1321373}}
    {{gwi:1321374}}

    Unknown - This fruit came from a friend's yard. Don't know what cultivar. it was very fiberous, had a pleasant but watered down taste.
    {{gwi:1321375}}
    {{gwi:1321376}}

    Jean Ellen - I don't know what is up with this one. As you can see in the pics, it looked perfectly ripened. But the minute I sliced it open, it smelled wierd. The flesh was fairly fiberous, about the same as the Madame Francis. It was very tart and had a strong unpleasant taste. My husband described it as tasting like kerosene - I don't disagree. Although I might liken it more to pine pitch. Either way, bad. We tasted a couple cubes & threw out the rest. That bad. Anybody else taste a Jean Ellen? Can a fruit that looks so perfect be spoiled somehow?
    {{gwi:1321377}}
    {{gwi:1321378}}

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    pikorazi, in 2005 Guiness World Book of records dubbed the Phillipine Super Mango or Carabao the sweetest mango in the world measuring 22 brix

    one of the factors is that they come from Guimaras Island

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guimaras#Economy

    Economy

    The province is basically agricultural with palay, coconut, mango, vegetables, livestock, poultry and fishing as major products. Its major industries are tourism, fruit processing, coconut processing, fish farming, handicrafts making, mining, quarrying and lime production.

    Guimaras is well-known for its agricultural crops, particularly mangoes, where some 50,000 of these trees are planted. The Guimaras Island is famous for producing the sweetest mangoes in the world. Guimaras mangos are reportedly served at the White House and Buckingham Palace [citation needed]. Guimaras' largest event of the year is The Manggahan Festival (the Mango Festival). The variety of mangoes produced are also best for making dried mangoes, jam and other delicacies.

    i never had a Philippine imported mango so i wouldnt know first hand.

    i have eaten Mexican Carabaos and they are sweet. the one Okrung Tong i tasted was knock your socks off sweet and sour, may almost be too much for some people. it was picked tree ripe as well.

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    yup thats an Ott,

    odd mango, let us know what you think.

    its number 96 on Fairchilds mango poster

    {{gwi:1321379}}

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    SunWorshiper:

    Thanks for the analysis. I like your method...very scientific. The Jean Ellen evaluation is of most interest and concern to me. I recently purchased one on the recomendation of the Fairchild folks and while they are occasionally given to over hyping a fruit, they don't out and out intentionally misrepresent the flavor qualities. So, I am thinking that there must be more to this story. I just don't have any plausible explanations. I think someone else also panned the Jean Ellen they had. Oh well, mine is in the ground and we'll see in a year or two what the story is when grown here at my home. The lychee you have looks like Brewster to me from the outside color. Tasting it would be the clincher. But, I would say that the flavor between Emperor and Brewster is considerably different. Brewster has a much more intense lychee flavor, is jucier with flesh that is more gelatinous than Emperor. Emperor has much more flesh, its drier and with a much more delicate lychee flavor.

    Felipe and Bryan:

    On the sweetness issue, at my house, the Okrung is the sweetest mango. I also have Okrung Pi Khun Tong and it is not as sweet as Okrung. Now as to whether there is a difference between what I am calling Okrung Pi Khun Tong and Okrung Tong....that I am not sure of. But Okrung, a smaller green mango with medium fiber and light greenish yellow flesh definitely takes the award for sweetness here. I have tasted Carabao and it was more of a sweet/tart mix.....excellent, but nowhere near the Okrung in pure sweetness. I have a Carabao seedling fruiting for the first time so I'll be interested to see how it compares.

    Harry

  • puglvr1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sun Worshiper, Thanks for the detailed reviews.

    I had to laugh when you said your husband mentioned a "kerosene" after taste. Several years ago, I was given some Carrie mangoes(that's what he said it was) and I didn't care for the taste at all...like you I ended up throwing them out...I couldn't eat them! It had a unpleasant smell even before I cut it open...and was worse once I opened it. Now I'm wondering if it was actually a "Jean Ellen"? Your descriptions sounds familiar to what I experienced with what I was told was a Carrie. Yet, so many people LOVE Carrie mango...so I'm really wondering if the one I had wasn't a Carrie at all? I do have a Carrie tree...but the freeze keeps making it smaller and smaller and kills the flowers so I haven't tasted the fruit from this tree yet. If I ever see a Carrie, I'm willing to try it again just to prove to myself exactly what I had all those years ago. If mine fruits and turns out to be horrible tasting I'm replacing the tree,lol...

  • simon_grow
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey Sun Worshiper, thanks for the great descriptions on the mangoes. Do you happen to have the contact information on Pernas Groves? I would love to have a variety of mangoes shipped to me but I was never able to find anyone that would ship. Thanks in advance!
    Simon

  • swrancher
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had my last Jean Ellen Mango tonight which I had let ripen an extra few days beyond the other two. It was much sweeter and better tasting then my original ones. Still has a slightly funny under-taste but much better then the others that were a few days less ripe. I think next time I'll even give it another couple days.

  • squam256
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Someone who tried Jean Ellen last year told me it sucked too. I haven't tried it yet though.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    According to the good folks at Fairchild Gardens and specifically their curators, they say:

    'Jean Ellen' (Florida)

    'Jean Ellen' was selected as a home garden variety due to its early season, heavy production and its multiple bearing habit. The fruit are 300 g, oblong to lanceolate with a lemon yellow color. There is no blush to the fruit. The skin is smooth and typically has numerous corky lenticels and due to its habit of fruiting during the windy Spring, there are typically visible abrasions on the surface of the fruit. The flesh is an opaque yellow and there is a small amount of rough fiber near to the seed. The flavor is classified in the 'Alphonso' class, with a sweet, simple flavor of tropical spice. The tree grows easily and is semi-dwarf and precocious. The tree and fruit are moderately tolerant of disease and there are typically multiple blooms during the year. The season is from April to June in South Florida.

    This commnetary brings to mind the question about whether the fruits that you are getting to try now are actually good representative fruits of the cultivar. It is supposed to be an early variety. I would point out that mid-July is clearly not "early" under any stretch of the imagination. Although, it does mention that it may bloom multiple times during the year. And when it says....Alphonso class in terms of taste, I am really beginning to wonder.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks mango_kush for identifying the Ott. I'll let you know after I taste it. I think only 1 more day to ripen.

    Harry - glad you liked my tasting notes. I'm a software engineer by day - hard to break out of the science mindset=) Anyhow, I was very worried by the Jean Ellen tasting. It was one of the trees I considered buying. So of course got me wondering what the taste of the fruits from the trees I did buy will be. I bought them going on the written descriptions and this one was nothing like its description. It seems like I must have gotten a particularly bad fruit. Do fruits sometimes just not turn out? The thing that was so puzzling to me is that it was nicely colored, no sign of spoiling at all, and was soft to the touch but not mushy. So seemed like it should be ripe. Hopefully you're right and it is not a representative fruit. I'm very interested too to hear what others post about it. Sounds like others have had disappointing but not horrible tasting ones. Thanks a lot for the guess on the Lychee variety! Next time I have some I'll pay more attention=)

    Puglvr1 - interesting that you had a similar experience. For what it's worth, the Jean Ellen looked nothing like the Carrie mango I sampled, which very sweet. Hopefully your tree will fruit with delicious fruit!

    simon_grow - Here's site for Pernas Groves: http://www.pernasgroves.com/, looks like if you order soon you can still get some this year.

  • bluepalm
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sun Worshiper,
    Great pics, descriptions and analysis! I think you'll like the Edward more when you try the other ones. I too love Kent...just a great mango (for taste, production, etc.). Thanks for posting!

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    As my various fruits ripen I've done some more tasting. You called it bluepalm - Edward rocketed right up to the top of the taste list=) It is so amazingly good! I'd love to grow one, but I don't think I have the room - they are listed as a large tree. No chance of keeping one pruned (and productive) in the 10' range is there?

    The day after my last tasting I did a comparison of Edward, Nam Doc Mai & Florigon all newly sliced open fruits. And compared them against the other half of the Madame Francis Champagne and Kent from the night before. The ratings are:

    1. Edward, 2. Kent, 3. Madame Francis, 4. Florigon, 5. Champagne, 6. Nam Doc Mai

    The Edward was amazing. Sweet with a slight amount of tang. Peachy with a very complex, round flavor. It was less ripe than the last one and just perfect. Absolutely excellent! Also, the seed was super thin - so thin I could bend it easily.

    {{gwi:1321380}}
    {{gwi:1321382}}

    The Florigon was chock full of flavors. Very complex. There were both sweet and tart flavors, some pineapple flavor and a sort of fruit nectar drink taste that was hard to place.

    {{gwi:1321385}}
    {{gwi:1321387}}

    The Nam Doc Mai was hugely disappointing. The fruit I had may have been picked under-ripe didn't really soften before starting to wrinkle. It had a buttery soft texture, very silky flesh. But the flavor was very bland with a strange herbaceous undertone I didn't like. What do you think? Is this normal flavor from a Nam Doc Mai. It is one of the varieties I'm considering planting, so I am very interested in knowing if the fruits I got are representative. A bit bigger pics of it so you can decide if it looks like a good fruit or not:

    {{gwi:1321389}}
    {{gwi:1321390}}

    I also made the Canistel into a pie:
    {{gwi:1321391}}

    To be fair, I used the same recipe I use for pumpkin pie. It was very, very similar. More the amount of difference you taste in a homemade pie made with 2 different kinds of pumpkin. Amazing that a completely unrelated fruit tastes nearly identical to pumpkin!

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i bought alot of mangos from Bobs new river grove.

    the nam doc mai i had was off too, it didnt look over ripe but the flesh definitely was. it should be firm and fiberless.

    edward is always a good mango, the best mango i had this year so far was a Baileys marvel, it looks like a regular small yellow orange round mango but when you cut it open the flesh is yellow and tart like a thai mango.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Continued great work, SunWorshiper. Your analysis is much appreciated. Edward consistantly is near the top in all tastings that I do. Maha Chanook is the only mango that consistantly rates higher in my tastings. Edward can be tough to beat though because when its just perfectly ripe, there is so much luscious meat that it is one of the most rewarding mangoes to grow. It is one of the few varieites of mango that I have intentionally planted out multiple (4) trees in my yard. The others with multiple plantings are Maha Chanook (4), Cushman (3), Rosigold (3), but in fairness, I thought I had one Rosigold and 2 Martinez...which turned out to be Rosigold, and Nam Doc Mai (2). I also have mutiple Pim Saen Mun and Brahm Kai Mea, but they were mismarked accidental plantings.

    Harry

  • squam256
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Edward is still my favorite tasting mango. Just wish it was planted on a larger commercial scale in Florida, or that it would produce more here in Jupiter. Luckily there is an orchard in town with about 6 or 7 large Edward trees. Its just not a practical commercial mango because the production is usually poor in other parts of Florida too and there's other good cultivars that produce in larger quantities like Kent and Valencia Pride.

    Kush, I tried Bailey's Marvel for the first time this year and thought it was excellent as well.

    Sunworshiper, I would have to agree with your rankings. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Nam Doc Mai or most southeast Asian mangoes for that matter; flavor is one-dimensional and lacks the complexity of the Indian-descended cultivars.....although Edward is likely a cross between the two types. The top 4 in particular are mangoes I really enjoy. I recently grafted both Florigon and Kent, among others.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks mango_kush for the info on the Nam Doc Mai you purchased. I'm hoping that I just got a fruit that wasn't optimal, definitely want to try another one to compare.

    I went to Jene's Tropicals this past weekend for the tropical fruit tasting in hopes of finding more types of mangos to try. I got there a bit late in the day for tasting the cut up fruit, but they had an excellent variety of mangos to purchase - so I purchased about 10 more types to try=) I was hoping to find another Nam Doc Mai to taste, and I maybe succeeded. There was a box of mixed SE Asian mangos, all unmarked. I asked, and they were pretty sure that there were Nam Doc Mai & Okrung in the box but weren't sure which was which. Here are the mangos that I bought out of the "mixed SE Asian" box:

    {{gwi:1321392}}

    Can anyone help identify them? When I bought them, they tentatively thought the left 2 were Nam Doc Mai & the small middle one was Okrung, and they had no guess at all for the one on the right. And they thought that the large middle one might be a different type than the small middle one, although other than size they look the same to me. What do you all think? They aren't quite ripe yet, but I'll post pics of the inside when I cut them open. I figured even if I can't find out for sure what types they are I'll at least get a better idea of whether or not I like SE Asian type mangos.

    Harry - that Maha Chinook must be amazing to be better than Edward! How big does the tree get? I am limited to planting only trees I can keep pruned small=)

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks mango_kush for the info on the Nam Doc Mai you purchased. I'm hoping that I just got a fruit that wasn't optimal, definitely want to try another one to compare.

    I went to Jene's Tropicals this past weekend for the tropical fruit tasting in hopes of finding more types of mangos to try. I got there a bit late in the day for tasting the cut up fruit, but they had an excellent variety of mangos to purchase - so I purchased about 10 more types to try=) I was hoping to find another Nam Doc Mai to taste, and I maybe succeeded. There was a box of mixed SE Asian mangos, all unmarked. I asked, and they were pretty sure that there were Nam Doc Mai & Okrung in the box but weren't sure which was which. Here are the mangos that I bought out of the "mixed SE Asian" box:

    {{gwi:1321392}}

    Can anyone help identify them? When I bought them, they tentatively thought the left 2 were Nam Doc Mai & the small middle one was Okrung, and they had no guess at all for the one on the right. And they thought that the large middle one might be a different type than the small middle one, although other than size they look the same to me. What do you all think? They aren't quite ripe yet, but I'll post pics of the inside when I cut them open. I figured even if I can't find out for sure what types they are I'll at least get a better idea of whether or not I like SE Asian type mangos.

    Harry - that Maha Chinook must be amazing to be better than Edward! How big does the tree get? I am limited to planting only trees I can keep pruned small=)

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Sun Worshiper:

    Its not that easy to ID these mangoes from the small, one dimensional shot you provided. There are many mangoes that have similar shapes and colors on their exterior. I don't think the two on the left are Nam Doc Mai......I am pretty sure about that from I can see. The third one from the left, if it was grown at Top is probably Gao Lim Krong. The others could be a number of other culitvars, it is virtually impossible from this vantage point.

    Harry

  • squam256
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Okrung doesn't typically have red blush. It also has a very distinguishable flavor that is like pure sugar.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Maha Chanook can be kept at a manageable size. Here's a picture of of og my trees fruiting this year. It is about 7-8 feet tall without ever being pruned.

  • puglvr1
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's a good looking tree Harry! How old is it?

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's a beautiful tree Harry! Thanks for posting the picture. A tree that size would be great for me. I've not seen them listed for sale anywhere though. A quick search of this forum shows that they are hard to obtain. Are you selling any trees? Or know somebody that has them for sale? Part of the fun of growing things myself is to have fruit that wouldn't be available to me otherwise, so this tree definitely appeals to me.

    I'll post some more pictures of my unknown mangos from different angles. I was skeptical about the left ones being Nam Doc Mai too. My experience is limited, but the shape didn't look right to me. I have followed up with Jene's Tropicals via email - when I was there they said if I followed up they could find out what kind they are for me. No word yet, but I suspect that they will only be able to tell me what kinds were in the box, not what I bought exactly. But maybe that will help narrow it down.

  • hmhausman
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Nancy:

    That Maha Chanook tree is probably 3 years in the ground after I grafted it about 5 years ago. Those are really rough time estimates, as I didnt't really keep track or log the dates.....and you know how time flies when you're having fun. In any case, my original maha chanook trees are somewhat larger, but are definitely within the smaller growing class of mango trees. They have been in the ground for about 15 years, and were badly beaten up by Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

    Sun Worshiper:

    I don't have any available at the moment. It was really poor planning on my part...... because if I would have been smart, I would have done a whole lot of grafting of these trees and I could have made a small fortune over the years as people who have tried the fruit have clamored for a tree of their own. I have successfully grafted the tree over the years, but it seems to be more difficult to get success than most other mangoes I have tried. I recently did some attempts at airlayering and I was successful with one in the four I attempted. I am monitoring that airlayer now for the proper formation of a root system, now that it is separated ferom the mother tree. I will be trying to do some further grafting of these and I'll let everyone know when I have some available. Stay tuned.

    Harry

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks Harry. Sounds like you have a real treasure of a tree there! Not too late to make your fortune I'm sure=) I would definitely be interested if you do at some point have trees available.

  • jsvand5
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I hope you are potting up lots of mango seeds for future grafting this year Harry. My list of wants is growing quickly.

    I repotted that maha chanook I got from you. Scale all of a sudden just took over the tree. I luckily caught it in time and picked every one off and then sprayed the tree as well. They damaged the new growth pretty bad but it has since sent out some nice new shoots again. Seems to be taking off now. I am still not daring enough to try to graft it onto another tree. I am going to wait for a few more branches to form. I am really wanting to top work my mallika over to the maha chanook. My Mallika is a nice sized tree so I am thinking the maha chanook scion would really take off if I could actually get a graft to take.

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's the photo journal of my next tasting. Yum! This is so fun! This time the contenders are: Herman, Nam Doc Mai, Champagne, Fairchild, Florida Red, Choc Anon, Tahar, Ott, Edward and for an interesting comparison the first Georgia peach of the season.

    {{gwi:1321394}}

    My ratings are: 1. Edward, 2. Florida Red, 3. Champagne, 4. Georgia
    Peach, 5. Choc Anon, 6. Fairchild, 7. Ott, 8. Herman, 9. Tahar, 10.
    Nam Doc Mai

    My husbands ratings were the same, except he had a tie for first
    place: the Edward & the Georgia Peach.

    Edward - not quite as perfectly ripened as the last one, but still excellent.
    {{gwi:1321395}}
    {{gwi:1321396}}

    Florida Red - This one was I think about 1 day past perfect ripeness. But it was very juicy, melting and very sweet. Smooth and very flavorful.
    {{gwi:1321397}}
    {{gwi:1321398}}

    Champagne - A little more tart that is characteristic, but still very good.
    {{gwi:1321399}}
    {{gwi:1321400}}

    Georgia Peach - First of the season, so not yet of perfect ripeness. It had good full flavor, with a pronounced floral note. Both sweet and tart, more tart than a perfectly ripened fruit would be.
    {{gwi:1321401}}
    {{gwi:1321403}}

    Choc Anon - I think these were picked too soon, they started wrinkling before getting soft. Still very tasty. Flesh was firm with no fiber. It was tangy, coconutty and had a slight pineapple taste.
    {{gwi:1321404}}
    Apparently forgot to take a pic of the inside of this one.

    Fairchild - This one ripened most perfectly of the 3 fairchilds I bought. It was firm and buttery to cut through, but the flesh to pit ratio is pretty poor, and this was the largest fairchild of the 3. It was mild flavored, and pleasant with a slight pine flavor near the skin (which was not bad tasting). I am however a bit underwhelmed by the fairchilds overall. They are good, but I expected from descriptions for them to be outstanding. How do others feel about them? Maybe I got less than optimal fruits?
    {{gwi:1321405}}
    {{gwi:1321407}}

    Ott - This had firm flesh and was sweet and mild. The flavor was smooth and simple. It was in fact almost indistinguishable from the Fairchild.
    {{gwi:1321408}}
    {{gwi:1321410}}

    Herman - This one got a bit overripe - there was some spoilage by the pit. It had a medium amount of fiber. It was flavorful and sweet, but had an earthy undertone I didn't like. Although that could have been due to the overripeness.
    {{gwi:1321412}}
    {{gwi:1321414}}

    Tahar - This one also was a bit overripe. It was a bit stringy with a coconutty flavor.
    {{gwi:1321416}}
    {{gwi:1321418}}

    Nam Doc Mai - Once again, this one rated last. This fruit was slightly better than the last one. The flesh is so silky smooth, I really wanted it to taste awesome. It was slightly sweeter than the last one I tried but still had an off earthy undertone to it that I didn't like.
    {{gwi:1321420}}
    Forgot to take an inside picture of this one too.

  • mango_kush
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i know exactly the earth undertone you are speaking about, its the taste asian mangos get when they are overipe, all the nam doc mais i had this year were firm but there flavor was definitely over ripe. may be from the extreme heat we got this June

  • sun_worshiper
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Very interesting mango_kush. I would not have guessed that to be an overripe taste. Thanks for the good information.

  • Eugene Yakymiw
    5 years ago

    I went to Fairchild’s gardens so called mango festival, on Saturday morning, it everything but what I expected. There was a tasting room with two tables, well they only had two types off mango, one I forgot the name wich tasted like a Currie, nice little cubes, on another plate it looked like somebody smashed some type of overruled stringy mango, and that was it for mango tasting, they had a few plates of jack fruit, and some other tropical fruits. But no more mangos. There was also a room with a tables loaded with green mangos, none were the type you take home and start to eat, then went outside and they had only about 6 types of very common mango plants. Very disaponintinting, lot of different boots selling mostly every thing but a good quality type mango. Very disappointing, will discourage anybody to go, tourist trap. Big waste of time, very poorly produced and planned event. Shame who ever is responsible,, I can do better at a neighborhood corner, again big wast of time.

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