Drumroll, please........ At last, the Long Awaited Mango Post.

First off, the incredible Carrie Mango.

The Carrie is the local favorite, as well as our personal favorite. Carries have smooth, green and yellow skin, lovely, deep orange flesh, and strike the perfect balance between sweetness and tanginess.

A lot of mangoes have fibrous pulp (referred to as "strings" or "straws") but there is almost no structure whatsoever within the Carrie. Smooth, incredibly juicy flesh that bursts with incredible flavor and renews one's faith in the Almighty.

Simply put, the perfect mango.




Next up, the Nelson Mango.

Nelson are another favorite of ours, but who are we kidding? They're all our favorites.

Nelsons are very juicy, rich mangoes with a little more sweetness than acidity. They're usually medium green, with lateral stripes. The flesh is very soft when ripe, and has very little string.




The Southern Blush mango is a new on for us. Willie's fruit stand out by Hurley's has a constellation of different fruits, and it's always fun to try their recommendations.

Southern Blush, as it's name implies, is Blush Red. The flesh is firmer and sweet, with medium fibers.




Another recommendation by the sweet lady that runs the fruit stand while Jeff (the usual mango-recommender, also her son) is out of town was this little guy, the Bombay Mango.

Small, with smooth olive skin and syrupy-sweet flesh, it is her favorite and now one of ours.

Small mangoes mean you don't have to feel guilty eating two. Or nine. Either way.




The Hayden (or "Haden") is another round mango with smooth green-and-yellow skin.

Another very balanced mango, it has the tangy, juicy, orange flesh that we love so much.




The Jakarta Mango was a new one for us, but it pushing the "Dot" and "Carrie" for the top mango honor.

Incedibly flavorful, juicy, and balanced, with deep orange flesh, the Jakarta has deep greep skin that fades to a beautiful blush by the stem. The Jakarta has no strings, and is simply incredible.

Another recommendation by Willie's, it's a permanent addition to our shopping list.




The Nam Docks Mango was the first Cayman mango we ever tried. So, it would be prudent to say that this mango changed our life. Hard.

Mr. Livingstone Powrey, proud keeper or the Cayman Maritime Tradition, also our landlord, recommended both Willie's Fruit Stand and the Nam Docks mango. For this, we'll probably have to name our first born after him.

The Nam Docks is a "long" mango. An asian cultivar, it can have yellow or green skin, often fading into a gorgeous orange by the stem.

The flavor is sweet and melon-y, the flesh beautifully firm and a smooth, medium orange. There is almost no strings whatsoever, making it easy to eat and impossible to forget.




The Valencia Pride Mango is another new one for us, but will be repeated. And repeated.

A very striking yellow-and-blush skin is bested only by the marvelous flesh contained within.

A deep yellow with very little string, the flesh is soft, juicy and tangy. It has a very pineapple-y flavor, but much smoother and more complex.

We had this one for beakfast yesterday alongside coco-bread toast (and cookies that I ate after Kristi went to work.)




The Tom Adkins mango was another of our first mango experiences here.

Rich, balanced flavor and a lot of juice makes this one delicious, but a little tedious to eat because of the strings.

The strings don't affect the flavor, just the texture. Fishing them out from in between teeth creates a small distraction, but we've learned to ignore it. I'm used to grabbing a flosser while in the bathroom rinsing the mango juice out of my sticky goatee.




Last for this post, but certainly not least, the incredible Springfield Mango is another new addition to our addiction list.

Light yellow flesh, with a very citrus-y nose, the flesh is juicy, virtually string-free, and firm. Tangy at first, the flavor evens out to a nice, round, sweetness the closer you get to the stone.

Springfileds have a nice size to them, perfect for sharing. Or not.


ALRIGHT, enough. Sorry to go on and on. We're hooked, what can we say?

I heard on the radio this morning that some drug raids have been succesful in nabbing a few local users.

I kept thinking: "I wonder if they just haven't heard about Willie's?"