Green Mango

Just the other day, when trying to come up with some tasting notes for a wine that will be released soon, I was struggling with a taste/aroma that was hard to define in a white wine. An intense fruit character, very tropical, but not sweet, a little floral, and quite green - unusual and different from the more common peach / citrus / pear / white floral notes. Whatever it was seemed familiar, but just out of reach.

And then it hit me; green mango! When we were in El Salvador earlier this year, and though ill-advised were wandering through the shantytown market area of the center of the city, I saw a woman slicing up green fruit into bags. On close inspection, the fruit was a hard, green mango, which she peeled and pitted, then sliced like a potato or apple into hard, thin slices. I asked her if I could purchase a bag, and she added lime juice, powdered chillis, hot sauce, and pepper to the bag. The combination was cool, refreshing, crisper than an apple, and piquant from the spice. The underlying flavor of the mango was definitely floral and green in a positive way, tart, and pretty darned delicious! A terrific snack, and one I wish we could find here.