Mango Mania
1st Annual Mango Tasting Competition

Recovered from our utopian holiday, we felt it was time to reconnect with our neighbors, i.e. converse about the scorching heat, have sweaty dinner parties, and eat mangoes together. Indians relish this time of the year -- not because their shirts stick to their backs, but to celebrate the coming of the mangoes. They come in a dizzying number of varieties with unique sizes, colors, and most importantly, tastes. In U.S. markets, the fruit stand will simply say Mango, $2.99 ea. deceiving you into thinking that there is only one kind of mango, but here the tags say Malgova, Imam Pazzan, and on an on till you understand that this is no small time affair. Western wine aficionados may bask in the depth, length or trace of smoky bacon fat in a fine wine, but when it comes to mangoes, Indians will lecture you on the varying levels of sweetness between different varieties and the layers of taste revealing themselves as you savor a mango cube in your mouth. Surprised, shocked, and obsessively intrigued, we decided to investigate this phenomenon further. We wondered if the mango varieties are that different, and can a local tell them apart?

This simple inquiry led to the 1st Annual Bagayam Mango Mania, a mango tasting competition to solve once and for all who is the master of the mango. With the same precision and care that Jeeyung takes during her study to assure that diarrhea laden diapers are properly measured for their stool weight, we instituted exacting measures to ensure that there was no mango mixing or contamination of any sort. Knives and cutting boards were carefully washed after the chopping of one variety.

For the event, 5 mangoes were presented to the contestants. One of each mango was given to them while blindfolded, and they had to guess which one was correct. After tasting all 5, their score was tallied and mercilessly announced to the audience. Below is the break-down of the day.

The varieties of mangoes in separate packages awaiting the "peeling, chopping, and segregation" phase.

The green and red peels of a mango potpourri.
Can you tell which is which?

Within tolerances of 1/32", Jeeyung peels with "export quality" precision.

With quickness surpassing the shutter speed of our camera,
Alex "quick-chops" with the deadline soon approaching.

The practice pits. 1/2 hour was spent practicing with these prior to the competition.

Exquisite example of a peel-flesh dichotomy.

The five suspects in a pre-competition line-up.
The Kallapaddu was a shifty one and tried
to roll under our stove to avoid consumption.

De-brief. Set-up and explanation of the rules.

Describing each variety to the 1st contestant.

A security guard was hired to ensure that there was no foul play.

Our dobee Vanketeshan prayed beforehand and
deliberated tirelessly after each tasting.
The crowd knows what is on the line.

Our neighbor Ricky played dumb but received a high score of 3/5.

A good effort, but Alex scored 1/5.
Ashamed and humiliated, he was last seen in a mango tree talking to unripened fruit.

Unabashedly cocky, Dr. Park breezed through the tastings. Shocked with a 2/5
score, she voluntarily stripped herself of her self-awarded doctorate in Mangology.

The aftermath. Through 15 contestants, a winner is crowned. Dorothy (in red)
received a perfect score of 5/5 and took home the model mangoes as her booty.
The security guard refused rupees as payment and proceeded to devour the leftovers.