Wlid mangos of Borneo! The exquisite Lemon Meringue! The enigmatic green Chao Savoy! Your opportunity to taste rare mangos curated by one of the world’s top tropical fruit experts, Dr. Richard Campbell, kicks off this weekend as Mango Men Homestead opens their doors with the season’s first crops.
Campbell says they’ll be selling custom boxes of early mangos, including Rosigold, Angie, Nam Doc Mai, Cambodiana, Manilita, Lemon Meringue, Vallenato, Nectar of Nepture and Ma Muang Paa.
This year’s weather – early and late cold snaps, plus lingering effects on the trees from Hurricane Irma – has resulted in a season that’s starting a week behind schedule, he says. “In a normal year, it starts in the last week of April, and the hurricane had a disrupting effect, knocking down trees.”
Campbell makes sure he includes varieties that make sure he’s got mangos as long as possible. “It’s like a cow – I want to be able to milk it every morning.”
Mango Men Homestead is open every weekend 9am-5pm selling custom boxes of mangos for $25 (12-20 mangos per box, depending on size) along with their own honey and dried mango. They will also ship boxes on Monday. Call 305-812-0186.
Update: Cultivars for sale weekend of June 23-24: Orange Sherbet, CeciLove, Pina Colada, Bolt, Diamond, Carrie, Mallika, Ruby, India, Ambika, Fairchild, Nam Doc Mai, Alphonso, Emerald, Wise and Cushman. We will also have our first look of our newest celestial series selections.We will also have honey for sale at $8/16oz jar from our bees that forage in the orchard, and dried mango at $5/pint bags. Complete boxes of Orange Sherbet will be $40/box due to supply. All our mangos have been grown with no herbicides or pesticides; our honeybees collect nectar from the orchard and our dried mango is unadulterated.
Opening Mango Weekend
Here are the varieties for sale while supplies last:
‘Chao Savoy’ – These are a delicacy meant to be eaten mature green, says Campbell. They should not be allowed to ripen.
‘Manilita’ – Collected from the Pacific coast of Mexico, these early-season, small fruit are known for silky-smooth texture and a mild, sweet flavor.
‘Cambodiana’ – Collected in 1902 by plant explorer Dr. David Fairchild, these small fruit have a crisp, lemony sweetness with tones of ginger and jasmine. This tree was collected from the original introduction, which was later killed by Hurricane Andrew.
‘Lemon Meringue’ – A direct import from Myanmar, these small, juicy mangos are intensely sweet with strong citrus tones and a tart finish, perfect for those who love Southeast Asian mangos.
‘Rosigold’ – This Florida original, selected in the 1960s by the USDA in Miami, has soft, melting orange flesh with no fiber.
‘Nectar of Neptune’ – So named because its flavor is out of this world, these small yellow-orange fruits are intensely sweet, with strong tones of citrus and apricot.
‘Vallenato’ – From the north coast of Colombia, these were brought to the MangoMen orchard by Carl Campbell. The oval fruit have firm, juicy flesh and are spicy and aromatic, with the slightly acid flavor of citrus and apricot.
‘Ma Muang Paa’ mango
‘Ma Muang Paa’ – A species of wild mango from Borneo, the small fruit is spicy and rich, with heavy tones of jasmine and Asian forest fruit.
MANGO MEN HOMESTEAD
15300 SW 268 St, Homestead, FL 33032
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