The mango you’ll find in most British supermarkets is the Tommy Atkins. The name comes from army slang for a British soldier. These mangoes are mostly prized for their hardiness, rather than their flavour, although they do have a sweet flavour and mild aroma. Their skin is usually green and red. 

The poster child for specialty mangoes’ potential deliciousness is undeniably the Alphonso mango. Soft and sweet, with a tender and famously fibreless texture, this mango is probably the easiest speciality mango to find in the UK – when it’s in season.

After the alphonso, the next most available variety is the kesar mango. As their name suggests (kesar means saffron in Hindi) these Gujarati mangoes have a yellow skin and deep orange flesh. They are extremely sweet with only a slight acidity.

Another popular mango variety is the ataulfo or champagne mango. These are smaller than alphonso or Tommy Atkins mangoes, and bright yellow. Unlike Alphonso mangoes – and most of the world’s exported mangoes – these are typically grown in Mexico, not India. 

After these two, specialty mango varieties require more know-how to track down, and you might need to order them in advance. The himsagar mango has a dramatic, deep orange flesh and is also sometimes referred to as the champagne mango. The chaunsa mango is extremely sweet and particularly beloved in Pakistan, and has a yellow skin, while the langra mango is generally green. There are hundreds of mangoes – far too many to list, or try in one lifetime – but they all have their defenders and their good qualities.

While supermarket mangoes can be found all year round, specialty mangoes have seasons. But mangoes not only vary in fragrance, colour, size and flavour but also in how and when they’re eaten. Just as grape varietals are suited to different wines, different mangoes cultivars are used for different dishes.

Some are eaten early in the year, when the flesh is still hard and sour, while others are only picked when so soft they’re practically liquid. As a result, there is no one particular month or period when all mangoes are in season. However, mangoes are generally at their peak in the warmer months. Pakistani chaunsa mangoes and Floridian Kent mangoes are in season well into August, while the beloved Bengali himsagar mango season is over by the end of June. 

The Guinness world records gave the award for the sweetest mangoes to the Carabao, a Filipino mango. However, Japanese Miyazaki mangoes are also known for their extremely low acidity and almost candy-like sweetness.

Ripe mangoes are so good it often feels sacrilegious to cook them, but there are a few desserts which you can make while preserving as much of the fresh mango texture as possible. Mango sticky rice is a great option for example, as it’s just topped with fresh mango, and the coconut flavour doesn’t overwhelm the fruit's aroma. Similarly, Sameer Taneja has a recipe for bhapa doi, a super sweet Indian steamed yoghurt, which is served with whole chunks of mango as a garnish. An even simpler recipe to try is Sumayya Usmani’s delicate strawberries, mangoes and cream. The cream is mixed with a tiny bit of sugar and saffron for extra fragrance and sweetness, and the whole dessert is finished with pistachios.

If you have a few alphonso mangoes you’re willing to sacrifice – or if they’ve become a little bit soft and overripe – Avinash Shashidhara’s alphonso mango cheesecake uses puréed alphonso mango. This can be made with tinned alphonso mango purée, which is slightly smoother and sweeter, but it's particularly special with fresh alphonso mango purée. Marcello Tully’s mango sorbet is another great use for delicious but too soft mangoes. A four ingredient dessert (including water!) if you have an excess of mangoes and a blender, it’s an absolute no-brainer.

Despite their sweetness, mangoes are at the epicentre of some fairly bitter debates. Expats’ love of mangoes has been used as a bargaining chip by the U.S. government in trade negotiations, and mangoes are often imported illegally over the Canadian border when unavailable through more legitimate means.

Mangoes are wrapped up in thorny issues of identity – and not just in terms of national rivalries about who produces the best fruit. In his introduction to Apoorva Sripathi's article on mangoes for Vittles, Jonathan Nunn notes that ‘London as a mango city is only reflective of it as a post-colonial one, where mangoes are bought and enjoyed to access the identity lost through migrations from countries where they were more readily available.’

Whatever the mango means to you – family, history or just a snack – we hope you find the perfect one.