The best varieties of mango have a wonderfully perfumed and flavoured yellow flesh, but lowlier varieties can be fibrous and dry. Those are described as turpentine mangoes because of their flavour. Mangoes are generally the size of a large avocado or larger, though slightly more bulbous in shape. The Alphonso mango is highly valued in India. In Sri Lanka dumpara mangoes, which are small and fibrous, are valued for their sweet honeyed juices. They have to be kneaded gently to soften the fibres, to allow the juices to be sucked out. The green to red skin is inedible. Two cuts should be made through the widest diameter, slightly off-centre, one on each side of the large, flat stone. The luscious fruit may then be removed from each of the cut sections and sucked from around the stone. When properly ripened this is the king of fruits.
