Give it up for Mango season. I feel like Tom Cruise on Oprah’s couch anytime I have some mangoes. Yes, it’s always more than one and my my my, they are sooo good. I’m glad and grateful to live in the part of the world that has juicy mangoes. My condolences for those of you that don’t.

 

There are a million and one mango recipes but I enjoy them more in a drink than in food. Dedicated to my love for mangoes, here are five surprising facts about this awesome fruit.

 

1. The name “mango” originated  from India

According to the history books, during the 15th and 16th Centuries when the British were trading with South India, the word mango was born.

 

2. India is the highest producer of mangoes in the world  

Mangoes were first grown in India therefore it’s no surprise that they are the highest producers. It is estimated that a total of 18 million tonnes of the fruit is produced every year.

 

3. The worlds heaviest mango was 3.435kg

This is one huge and delicious record. According to the Guinness Book Of Records, the heaviest mango weighed 3.435kg. Surprisingly, it wasn’t harvested from India but from the Philippines in 2009.

 

4. There are hundreds of varieties

Not all mangoes taste the same, some are more juicy than others. The varieties are endless and will surprise you. Most mangoes are creamy and sweet, some taste like a pineapple, some taste like a cross between a peach and a pineapple and some are bland. Believe it or not, some mangoes are a little bit spicy.

 

5. Mangoes are distant cousins of Cashews

Cashews and Mangoes are related in a way other than having similar shapes. They belong to a type of fruit family called a drupe. A drupe is fleshy fruit with a thin skin and a large, pithy central stone that contains the fruit’s seed.