Easy and Affordable Mango Recipes

Easy and Affordable Mango Recipes by Felix B. Daray (published in the Agriculture Magazine, Oct. 2009) Talk about fruity desserts, and mango recipes will be mentioned. The reason is simple because mango appeals to almost everyone plus the fact it’s nutritious, too Rich in antioxidants and vitamins A and C, mango is an ingredient in various dishes. In Thailand for instance, coconut-flavored sweet glutinous rice is served with sliced mangoes. In other Southeast Asian countries meanwhile, mangoes are pickled with fish sauce and rice vinegar.As for Filipinos, we enjoy mangoes from simply eating it with bagoong to having it prepared as mouth-watering dessert. So, looking for delicious fruity dessert? Then try these: Mango Candy Ingredients: ripe mangoes camote (sweet potato) sugar Procedure: 1. Wash mangoes. 2. Slice, scrape and mash pulp. 3. Boil, and mash camote. 4. Measure 1 cup mango, 1 cup camote and ¾ cup sugar. 5. Cook and stir frequently until mixture becomes very thick. 6. Transfer mixture in trays and spread or mold. 7. Wrap each in cellophane and store. m Mango jam Ingredients: ripe mangoes refined sugar Materials: steel stock pot mixing ladle measuring cup sterilized glass bottle Procedure: 1. Wash mangoes and cut into halves. 2. Scoop the pulp and depress with fork. 3. Add 1 cup sugar for every cup of mango pulp. 4. Cook briskly and stir frequently until mixture becomes thick. 5. Pack in sterilized jars and remove air bubles. 6. Process jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. 7. Cool, seal then store. Mango Puree Ingredients: 10 kg firm ripe mangoes 25 g citric acid Materials: steel stock pot mixing ladle peeler sterilized jars Procedure: 1. Wash mangoes and peel. 2. Scrape the pulp and homogenize in the blender to a smooth pare. 3. Heat the puree with constant stirring. 4. Add citric acid and continue stirring. 5. Pack in sterilized jars while hot then process in water bath for 30 minutes. 6. Air cool and store. Mango Pickles Ingredients: firm unripe mangoes salt sugar Materials: sterilized glass jar steel basin Procedure: 1. Wash mangoes and peel. 2. Cut into halves, then cut lengthwise to about 3/8 inch thick. 3. Weigh and add 2o percent salt by weight. 4. Soak overnight. 5. Wash and drain. 6. Add 40 percent sugar by weigh and soak overnight. 7. Wash and drain. 8. Prepare syrup then cool. 9. Pack sliced mangoes in sterilized bottle then add syrup up to head space. 10. Store in cool place. Mango Shake Ingredients: ripe mangoes 6 tbps non- fat milk ½ cup water ice cubes Preparation: Combine all and pass through a blender for 1 minute. Serve with crushed or cubed ice. b>Burong Mangga Ingredients: green mangoes salt water Materials: sterilized glass jars steam jacketed kettle Procedure: 1. Wash mangoes. 2. Sliced into halves and remove seeds. 3. Wash sliced fruits the salt. 4. Place in jars. 5. Fill jars with boiled water enough to soak sliced mangoes. 6. Cover the jar and let it stand for at least a week. Source: Bureau of Plant Industry- National Mango Research and Development.

Security Guard, now Farms

Security Guard now Farms by Felix B. Daray FORTY- FIVE YEARS AGO, Herly Contayoso was a security guard of a company that exported Cavendish bananas. His salary was just P230 a day. Today, he proudly cultivates 3 hectares of farmland in Cabligan, Matanao, Davao del Sur.His farm is planted to 300 mango trees and some coconuts and home to 30 goats, 4 cows, 5 pigs and native chickens. Back in 1998, the year he resigned from work, the property had nothing but cogon and stunted coconut trees. Contayoso did all the cleaning and plowing himself. And at the start, he intercropped grafted mangoes with sugar cane. “I have observed that mango trees grow fast and healthy as these are not easily infested by pest and fungus because sugarcane prevents harmful insects and stray animals to get near the trees,” Contayoso said. Intercropping also helps prevent soil erosion and build up of humus in the soil. After two years, his coconut trees started to fruit. He saved on the cost of fertilizer as his three crops shared in fertilizer. This is one of the advantages of untercropping, he said. Since then, he harvests 1,200 kilos of copra every months. Although the price of copra is erratic, it nis still an added income. He sells petioles for firewood and makes charcoal for coconut shells. In 2008,he stopped rationing the sugar cane as the mangoes were ready for fruit induction. He thought of raising animals that could feed on unwanted sugar cane shoots. He decided to raise goats as these were good docile and good clippers of weeds. More importantly, their manure was a good organic fertilizer. He started with with six does and 1 male of a hybrid species. Today he has 30 head, and he sells a newly weaned goat at P 1,500 per head and pig at P90 per kilo liveweight. His mango trees on one hand, gross around P500,000 annually. But since he has little knowledge on mango production, he has entered into sharing system. The cultivator gets 70% percent of the gross income and for this reason, Herly plans to venture solo, saying that he has already acquired enough knowledge and capital. As of now, Contayoso is waiting for another mango harvest by mid-December. He expects that it will be another bountiful harvest like one he had in 2008 when his sh. are amounted to P 170,000