Fun Facts About Mangoes

They are fun to eat when you mix it up with chilli, rihaakuru, and young papayas to make Majaa, they spice up a dull meal so easily when you preserve them as Asaara, and the ripe ones can be used to make such a delicious curry. Not to mention, the ripe golden yellow ones are an instant sweet craving fix.

Since it’s still mango season here in the Maldives, we thought we’d take a deeper look at the beautiful, delicious and multipurpose fruit that we often associate with good times and loads of fun.

Where they come from

Mangoes are native to South Asia. It’s believed that mangoes were cultivated in India as far back as 4000 years ago!

A relative of cashews and pistachios

Mangoes belong to the cashew family Anacardiaceae. Therefore, the extended family members of the mango include cashews and even pistachios. Perhaps the shape has some resemblance.

A seasoned traveler

While the mango is native to South Asia, early travellers took the fruit to locations in South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South America. Now, mangoes are grown in most of the world’s frost-free tropical and subtropical regions.

Why do we call them mangoes?

The region of India where mangoes were first said to be cultivated was a Sanskrit-speaking region and the most ancient known name for the fruit is “Aamra-Phalam.” The Hindi speaking Indians began referring to it as “Aam-Phal,” the Tamil speaking Indians began calling it “Maamkaay,” and the Malayalam speaking Indians began calling it “Maangaa.” This coupled with the presence of the Portuguese and the British in the region later on resulted in the whole world referring to the fruit as “Mango.”

Indian Paisley Designs

Where do those paisley patterns on Indian garments come from? Mangoes of course! When it comes to mangoes, India is viewed as the world’s capital as the country is the world’s largest mango producer. Mango holds a special place in Indian culture and it’s no surprise that the paisley pattern in based on the shape of the mango.

Age does not matter

Mango trees live a long, long life. It’s believed that they reach their peak age at 300 years. But the more intriguing fact is that no matter how old a mango tree is, it would always bear fruit.

The colours of the rainbow

There are over 500 varieties of mangoes. Although the mango trees that we have here in the Maldives bear a fruit that takes on a bright yellowish-orangish colour when ripe, ripe mangoes come in many other colours including red, green, orange and even purple.

While on the topic of mangoes, we've got a great mango curry and a yummy mango fudge recipe here on Lonumedhu, so do check them out.

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