total calypse of the heart
a mango taste test 🥭
it’s time for another seasonal fruit taste test!
faithful readers may recall the apple taste test from earlier this year - however unlike apples, i rarely bake with mangoes
they are so precious down here in victoria i find it hard to mess with perfection, and prefer to eat them just as they are - which is ideally with my hands, sitting in the sun, then going for a swim to wash the juice off my face
all mango varieties in this test were bought locally, with the best, ripest mango selected and carried home for tasting at room temperature
we tested:
calypso
r2e2
kensington pride
maha chanok
calypso
the calypso mangoes were the smallest, with palest colour and almost no aroma
they had a firm texture “very chompable” but almost completely flavourless! these mangoes were so meh i actually went back to the markets to buy another one to confirm - still a dud
0 / 5
use for: compost
r2e2
the biggest mango with pretty blush patches and a very strong mango smell
very disappointing flavour, very muted! i think if i was fed this with my eyes closed i wouldn’t be able to tell it was mango!
2 / 5
use for: looking at in your fruit bowl
kensington pride
this mango was suuuper tender, almost buttery when you bit into it
it had a distinctly mango flavour with a little tartness
i noted it ‘tasted like mango weis bar’, which they have since confirmed as fact!
this is quintessential australian mango
5 / 5
use for: eating, pavlova, diy weis bars, mango lassis
maha chanok
this mango was a little harder to hunt down but worth the effort
it was a gorgeous sunshine yellow with a jelly-like bite and huge yield
this is a fragrant, almost floral mango with almost no tartness
absolutely delightful, tastes like childhood to me
5 / 5
use for: eating, mango sticky rice, pudding, sorbet
results
tied first place: kensington pride & maha chanok
second place: r2e2
bottom tier: calypso
i am eagerly keeping an eye out for the first honey gold, pearl, and other fun varieties to pop up near me
anyone who brings me a new mango variety to taste will get their choice of baked good - this is a serious offer
til next time