Mangaba

Hancornia speciosa · Tropical fruit

40 pairings

The mangaba is a small, fragrant tropical fruit native to Brazil, borne by Hancornia speciosa, a latex-bearing tree in the dogbane family (Apocynaceae). Thin-skinned and yellow-green flushed with red, it has soft, juicy, cream-coloured pulp that is sweetly aromatic with a gentle tang, and is prized for juice, ice cream and the cerrado regional cuisine of central and northeastern Brazil.

Picking a good onedrag

UnderripeOverripe

Coloured but firmYellow under a red blush but still firm, a cut stalk on it. It softens on the counter, though mangaba sheds its latex and bitterness only if it fell ripe.Second best

SkinYellow ground coming up under a red blush and freckles

GiveFirm still, with the faintest give at the blossom end

Stem endCut or torn stalk, the bead of latex dried hard on it

SmellA first sweetness right at the skin, still faint

Reading a just ripe one. Move the slider and the rest of this page — nutrition, pairings — re-scores with it.

Preparing