Produce Guide - M

Mangoes

When my customers ask me how to eat a mango, I always reply, "Naked - in the bathtub!" I can't answer for its cosmetic value, but a ripe mango is one of the juiciest, most succulent fruits around. The mango is also the king of tropical fruits, more familiar to three-quarters of the world than the banana or apple. In India, where the fruit is believed to have originated, the mango enjoys an almost mythical status, closely related to legends of love and lust. At one time only rajas and nawabs were allowed to cultivate the royal fruit, but now India is the world's largest mango producer, growing over 60 per cent of the world's favourite fruit.

In the last decade or so, the mango has ceased to be a mysterious exotic to most Canadians. Generally available year-round, mangoes are imported into Canada primarily from Mexico, but also from Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Mexico's season begins in March and ends in September. We generally see only four or five of the more than 500 different varieties grown around the world, and since they are rarely sold, like apples, by their varietal names, few of us recognize them. However, you might want to look out for these by appearance, as they do differ in flavour and texture.

Mangosteens

Despite its name, the mangosteen is not even distantly related to the mango. Native to Indonesia and Malaysia, the fruit is fairly unknown outside of Southeast Asia. However, if you visit Singapore or Thailand, for example, you'll notice street vendors doing a brisk business with this popular fruit. And while we do see the occasional mangosteen in Canada - usually in cities with large Asian populations and markets - they tend to be expensive, because they are not yet cultivated extensively for commercial export.

The fruit is round, about the size of a mandarin orange, with a large calyx on one end. Its smooth, leathery skin may be bright red or deep burgundy in colour, sometimes flecked with yellow. When ripe, a mangosteen is firm, but yields under gentle pressure. Very hard mangosteens should be avoided, as the fruit dehydrates and hardens as it ages. Unfortunately, there's no real way of telling what you're getting for your money until you find your way inside. And for this you'll need a sharp knife. Score a line around the circumference of the thick skin, taking care not to cut into the flesh. The top half will lift off, revealing five to seven delicate, snowy white segments, much like orange segments, lying loose in the bottom half of the shell. The segments may or may not contain small seeds, and you can simply spit them out.

The texture of the mangosteen is something like a ripe plum, but it melts in your mouth, and the flavour is simply amazing. Raspberries and rhubarb is the closest I can come to describing it. I imagine that mangosteen would make a beautiful ice cream or sorbet, but I doubt you'd ever have the kind of surplus necessary. In any case, if you get your hands on one of these beauties, I suggest you simply lock yourself in a room with it, a sharp knife, and a tropical daydream.

Melons

Melons are a broad category of fruit that most Canadians associate with dessert. Cantaloupe, musk, and winter melons are all sweet varieties, but there are also "cooking melons," most commonly found in Southeast Asia, where they are treated as winter squash. Like squash, melons have a central cavity filled with seeds, which are a popular snack in most places where melons are grown. Watermelons, on the other hand, belong to a different genus altogether.

The true cantaloupe melon is named for the Italian town of Cantaloupo, near Rome, and is believed to be the first successful melon introduced into Europe. However, while North Americans tend to speak about cantaloupes as a variety, they are rather a category of melon. Cantaloupes are typically small, round, and very fragrant, often with a scaly skin. Varieties include the Charantais, a very small melon with a yellow skin and orange flesh; the Israeli Ha-Ogen, with a smooth, yellow and green striped skin and green flesh; and the Galia, which is similar to the Ha-Ogen.

What we think of as a cantaloupe is actually a musk or "netted" melon, so called for the fissured pattern of the skin. The most common variety has a pale green, netted skin that usually turns golden when ripe. The orange flesh is sweet, meaty, and juicy. Cultivated everywhere from Asia, the Middle East, and Southern Europe to South and Central America, these melons are available year-round, although we import most of ours from California. However, thanks to developments in varieties, we can now grow these subtropical melons in Canada. Our "cantaloupes" tend to be more elongated than round, with heavy netting, lighter flesh, and sweeter flavour than Californian varieties. Look out for local musk or netted melons - which will likely be labelled as cantaloupes - in August and September.

Mushrooms

Button mushrooms are a regular item on most shopping lists. But we've come a long way from the days of buying white button mushrooms sweating in a cellophane packet, forgetting them in the bottom of the vegetable crisper, then tossing them into a stew or tomato sauce to disguise their less-than-fresh appearance. With the wide variety of cultivated and wild mushrooms available in today's markets, fungi have come into their own.

But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. The small, white button mushroom, with its smooth, rounded cap and creamy, mild taste, still deserves a place in your shopping basket. Available year-round, button mushrooms are usually sold loose, allowing you to bag your own. Choose firm, plump mushrooms, with dry skins and tightly closed caps. Avoid any with wrinkled skins, blemishes, or a moist, slimy texture. Mushrooms have a short life and should be used as soon as possible. If you must keep them for a day or two, refrigerate them in a paper bag or wrapped loosely in a slightly moistened paper towel. Humidity accelerates spoilage, so store them on a shelf with lots of space around them, rather than in the vegetable crisper, smothered under a giant daikon or eggplant.

Because their high water content causes them to shrink considerably when cooked, leave small mushrooms whole. The stems of larger mushrooms can be trimmed or peeled, if you have the patience. Because button mushrooms have a subtle taste, they are an economical way to bulk up a dish made with the wild or exotic varieties.

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