It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year... it's Mango Time!

Yes, folks, it is mango season once again. It has been for about a month now and we are basking in the joy of daily mangoes with breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Fortunately, this is yet another abundant season and mangoes are everywhere and at a great price. We have a mango tree, so we are not lacking in mango selection and variety.

There are more than 1000 different varieties of mangoes throughout the world and we definitely have many different types in Belize. We can’t tell which is which (we kind of have the slipper mango and black mango down, but then sometimes there are black spots on slipper-looking mangoes, so who knows!), but we pretty much have not found one we didn’t like. There are certainly those we like more than others, but if you offer us a mango, we will eat it!

Anthony makes a delicious mango crisp and I’ve been researching other mango recipes so we don’t let any mangoes go to waste – that would simply be sinful!

Here are some of the mangoes we have been fortunate enough to enjoy during the past month and will enjoy for a couple more. We are quite thankful for another fruitful season since the rains of 2008 made that year a bad one for mangoes. I sometimes wonder if our decision to stay longer had something to do with the mangoes (and avocado season for that matter).

First, take a look at our tree:

Lee baby mango: 14 March 2010

They're getting bigger: 17 April 2010

Soon they will ripen: 5 May 2010

Our first mango from the tree: 24 May 2010

Daily Mangoes: 31 May 2010

In full bloom: 5 June 2010

Here are some other mangoes we've enjoyed:

Anthony couldn't resist when he saw these at the market for 75 cents a piece; our first mangoes of the season: 26 April 2010

Wasting no time cutting into those first mangoes

The remaining photos just show the many varieties of mangoes we've procured in the past two months:

That mango on the right is just gigantic - and it tasted great (actually I liked it more than Anthony did, which is rare)

The ones with the red are both of our absolute favorite (but, that tall one from above is really really nice, so I'd be fine with just those)

Just plain mango silly-ness right here

Another version of mango we picked up at the Cayo market this weekend

The juicy deliciousness of a fresh mango can't be beat on such hot, humid days! Put some in a bowl of cereal in the morning and it's the perfect hint of sweetness - move over bananas!