ALPHONSO

By-
Varon Garg
 HISTORY
• is a mango cultivar that is considered by many to be one
of the best in terms of sweetness, richness and flavor. It
has considerable shelf life of a week after it is ripe
making it exportable.
• The Alphonso Mango is named after Afonso de
Albuquerque. This was an exquisite and expensive
variety of mango, that he used to bring on his journeys
to Goa. The locals took to calling it Aphoos
in Konkani and in Maharastra the pronunciation got
further transformed to Hapoos. This variety then was
taken to the Konkan region of Maharastra and other
parts of India.
 Indian Scenario
• People in India are very fond of alphonso.
• The first mangoes of the year make
newspaper headlines and herald the
coming of summer.
• India has answer to the mango thirst of
Indian's called Frooti, a ubiquitous sugary
mango-flavored drink which is in heavy
demand throughout the year.
 The U.S
• The Indian wing of DHL even offers a courier
service specifically for mangoes, although
the United States has long been absent from its
list of destinations because of its ban on Indian
mangoes.
•  But the ban should soon be lifted as part of a
deal struck by President Bush on his March visit
to the country.
• President bush quoted “The U.S. is looking
forward to eating Indian mangoes”.
 Mango’s and Mumbai
• The city is the first stop of the beloved
Alphonso mango — widely considered the
king of the mangoes — which grows in the
surrounding Maharastra and Gujarat
countryside. The best specimens are said
to come from Ratnagiri to the south of the
city.
 Process
• Unlike the caged puppies, newly arrived mangoes at the
market get to bed down in hay for a whole week,
ensuring that they ripen evenly from cool green to hot
yellow.
• Then, once the mangoes are ready, shoppers nuzzle
them affectionately against their faces as if the mangoes
were sad and needed comforting, another treat withheld
from the arguably more deserving puppies.
• The shoppers are in fact hoping to inhale the distinct
whisper of mango perfume, which only barely leaks out
the skin of the perfectly ripened fruit .