Accents
Sweet, sweet mangoes of home
Peach of a world! New expression learned from our English teacher decades ago in high school. Glorious summer day and we were out in the open field to compete in the games, mostly winning too. Peach of a world, indeed! And we hadn't tasted a peach yet nor known how it looked like. Suffice it to say that we just delighted in using any new idiom or expression to display our fluency in the King's English.
Now that we know how the sweetness of peach differ from that of our mango, I can say, without fear of contradiction (to be lawyer-like about it), "What a mango of a world!" to describe glorious summer days when the mango trees in Guimaras, Leon, and Igbaras are heavily laden with the yellow fruit. Or when luck and sunshine fall on my shoulder, it's "A mango of a world." Unliterary? Take it or leave it, I'll use it anyway. Because I just love the sweet, sweet mangoes of home.
Some folks here in the States call our mango as the "Peach of the Tropics." Those of you who love peaches, think what you will, but as far as my taste buds are concerned, the tag is not complimentary to the Philippine mango. Peach is only beautiful as a figure of speech.
Here I am in the mango-less U.S. of A., said to be the biggest importer of mangoes, but in South Carolina where we are vacationing at our daughter's, there's none of the mangoes I crave for. Nada. One weekend, however, we got lots of the dried variety. Sam's Club, a big wholesaler of commodities, had displayed a table-full of Philippine dried mango for customers to sample. We joined the line for a taste of our own, and as we bit into the thin, dry slice—it was then that the craving was strongest for the luscious golden yellow, sweet, sweet mangoes of home. We were so glad to see people sampling the dried variety and smiling in satisfaction.
The big label SUNSWEET Premium Varietal and Mango Philippine Grown stand out in the blue packaging. The ad printed at the back described it so well: Enjoy Philippine Grown Mango anytime for a super tasty snack that's plum full of nutrients. Naturally flavorful and sweet, with just enough tartness to tantalize your taste buds. Of course, the fresh produce from our country deserves more superlatives, but what flood the US markets are the mangoes coming from Mexico that just pale in comparison with ours.
Two weeks ago, we went to Super International, a Mexican grocery store that sells canned mango juice labelled Frutal. For one who has savored the mango puree from Cebu, Frutal was a disappointment. I remember how my daughter Rose tried to be skimpy with the mango puree we brought from the Philippines. She wanted to have it last for as long as she could because, like the fresh produce, the puree is also a rarity in the supermarket shelves around here. Mexican pickled mangoes grace the shelves, but even these are no match to the pickled green mangoes of home—especially the freshly picked in bright grass green served with bago-ong. Yum-yum.
The Philippine mango, carabao variety, has earned the reputation of being the best in the world. Tourists who have enjoyed the fruit in our shores affirm that the mangoes they have tasted from the different Philippine provinces are the best ever yet. One reason agriculturists have is that the Philippine soil is ideal for propagating the most delicious mango variety. Noteworthy is this quote from the Launching of Philippine Super Mangoes in Belgium: "[K]nown worldwide as the best tasting variety of Carabao mangoes in the world, Philippine mangoes have a distinct rich taste, no turpentine taste, not fibrous and high nutritional value compared to other cultivars. Philippine Carabao mangoes are available year-round but the best tasting fruits are those picked during the summer months. Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines and now have migrated to the U.S., miss the delicious Philippine Carabao mangoes when faced with bland tasting mangos (sic) imported from Mexico." The Commercial Attache got it right down pat.
It is said the palate closely ties the Pinoy to the homeland. How true! Think lechon, pinakbet, and sinigang, and the longing for Bayang Magiliw intensifies. Finish off the dishes with the mango no Stateside fruit can equal. Then feel the satisfaction of being on top of the world. A mango of a world! (Notwithstanding how politicians—some politicians—continue to tarnish the beauty of that world.)
(Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)