Here's the photo journal of my next tasting. Yum! This is so fun! This time the contenders are: Herman, Nam Doc Mai, Champagne, Fairchild, Florida Red, Choc Anon, Tahar, Ott, Edward and for an interesting comparison the first Georgia peach of the season. My ratings are: 1. Edward, 2. Florida Red, 3. Champagne, 4. Georgia Peach, 5. Choc Anon, 6. Fairchild, 7. Ott, 8. Herman, 9. Tahar, 10. Nam Doc Mai My husbands ratings were the same, except he had a tie for first place: the Edward & the Georgia Peach. Edward - not quite as perfectly ripened as the last one, but still excellent. Florida Red - This one was I think about 1 day past perfect ripeness. But it was very juicy, melting and very sweet. Smooth and very flavorful. Champagne - A little more tart that is characteristic, but still very good. Georgia Peach - First of the season, so not yet of perfect ripeness. It had good full flavor, with a pronounced floral note. Both sweet and tart, more tart than a perfectly ripened fruit would be. Choc Anon - I think these were picked too soon, they started wrinkling before getting soft. Still very tasty. Flesh was firm with no fiber. It was tangy, coconutty and had a slight pineapple taste. Apparently forgot to take a pic of the inside of this one. Fairchild - This one ripened most perfectly of the 3 fairchilds I bought. It was firm and buttery to cut through, but the flesh to pit ratio is pretty poor, and this was the largest fairchild of the 3. It was mild flavored, and pleasant with a slight pine flavor near the skin (which was not bad tasting). I am however a bit underwhelmed by the fairchilds overall. They are good, but I expected from descriptions for them to be outstanding. How do others feel about them? Maybe I got less than optimal fruits? Ott - This had firm flesh and was sweet and mild. The flavor was smooth and simple. It was in fact almost indistinguishable from the Fairchild. Herman - This one got a bit overripe - there was some spoilage by the pit. It had a medium amount of fiber. It was flavorful and sweet, but had an earthy undertone I didn't like. Although that could have been due to the overripeness. Tahar - This one also was a bit overripe. It was a bit stringy with a coconutty flavor. Nam Doc Mai - Once again, this one rated last. This fruit was slightly better than the last one. The flesh is so silky smooth, I really wanted it to taste awesome. It was slightly sweeter than the last one I tried but still had an off earthy undertone to it that I didn't like. Forgot to take an inside picture of this one too.

I bought it from Ensey's Tropical Fruit Grove on Merritt Island. They were labeled as "Sunset" but may have been in fact "Indian Sunset" a seedling that was grown from mangos brought back from India by the owners great-great grandfather. I know they have 2 huge Indian Sunset trees on their property. Next time I stop by I'll find out which one it was. The mangos I had the first day were very good. The later mangos I had were good if you like eating a mango that tastes EXACTLY like a Pina Colada...too much for me. The other mangos I had were: Glenn, Zill, Orange Delicious (Ensey's own cultivar; excellent mango, small, some fiber, tastes like an orange creamsicle), Royal Purple (their own cultivar, tastes like a Concord Grape...almost exactly like one. They tend to over-ripen very quickly), Mary, Rutledge, and some others. I also thought the Zill was a pretty good mango. I also had several Bailey's Marvels and Mallikas this year. I didn't love Bailey's Marvel mango...it tasted like it had saccharin in the flesh (artificially sweet). The Mallika I had as usual was subdued and very creamy. In other mango news my father picked his first Alphonso...not ripe yet. However, days later he found one on the ground that was soft and partially eaten (by a filthy squirrel!), and regardless, he took it inside, and cut off the good half, tasted it and said "This Alphonso, even though it is not entirely ripe, is absolutely superb. It has a great balance of flavor....oh this is a keeper!!! Also yesterday I received the fabled Maha Chinook. Attached is a picture. It is going to my father's place (mangos love his house). Note the wedge-graft about 1' up the trunk.

My Carrie here in south Fla, finished it fruit 2 months ago. But I picked the ones that the birds didnt get to, when they littlerly just fall off the stem they are on with a slight twist. That is how to know when they are ripe. They stay on the tree...even wind doesn't blow them of..but a slight twist and they come off IF ripe and ready. I was told that by an old man from Jamacia! That is as reliable mango picking for a Carrie as you can get. That is where it is grown, and the local Jamacians wait for MY Carries to get ripe, so they can have some. They love them so much. I had to grow it, once I ate one. And since it is a dwarf, it is perfect, it doesnt take over my yard. AND it doesn't even get that spotting disease on its leaves or fruit,I cant spell it right...'anthracnose'? All the mangos in south Fla get it, and it is horrible, you have to spray all the time with copper to prevent it. I don't know if you have it in Calif or not? I planted a Cogshall as well...but it didnt live after 4 years for some reason. I was told they were THE 2 dwarf mangos to grow in Fla. So I planted them both...and the Carrie is so good, I am happy. But a slight twist will give you a ripe ready fruit...and usually before the birds and other animals get to them!

LOL Dcarch. I notice no matter how frugal I am, I tend to open my wallet more willingly when I become a tourist. I bet the local businesses know that too! :-) Oh, the cost of labor is part of the reason for high cost foods in Hawaii. Not sure about now... when I was taking school break back in 1992, I took on a job working at Zippy's, a local fast food place. The US minimum wage was $4.25 an hour. I was paid $7.5 an hour to just buff tables and sweep the floor! I am sure kids who picked bananas and coconut were paid $7.5 an hour as well. When you add that labor cost onto a banana or that coconut, fruits that could be picked off a tree for free become almost unaffordable in the market. Sharon, I have seen people trying to grow Papaya tree in a pot but they don't usually grow that great. Not sure if the tree requires bigger roots or the fact that papaya trees are tall with nothing else to balance its weight. The tree won't grow much and fruits are usually very small. Now that I live in Canada :-( I would love to be able to grow ANYTHING! Nine months of winter in Calgary, not the best place on earth for farming, really! Al