Yellow Mango Watercolour Print

Mangoes have been cultivated in South Asia for thousands of years and are now grown throughout the tropics, which makes them one of the world’s most widely recognised warm-climate fruits. Different varieties can be green, yellow, red or almost orange when ripe, with flavours ranging from sharp and fibrous to soft, floral and intensely sweet.

Because mango travelled so widely, it does not need to be forced into one national story. It appears in Indian pickles, Thai desserts, Southeast Asian fruit stalls, Latin American snacks and countless fresh-fruit markets elsewhere. That broad history is interesting in its own right. What remains is a fruit with ancient cultivation behind it and an unusually wide place in everyday food cultures across several continents.