Chilled, sliced ripe mango topped with Best Food Mayonnaise
You probably know someone who puts ketchup or shoyu (or some other given condiment) on just about everything they put in their mouth. Well, my mom is like that with mayonnaise. Well OK, not “just about everything”, but a few things that might make you scratch your head and think, “huh?” Yet somehow if you try some of her “mayo-concoctions”, chances are you’re gonna’ be enlightened, thinking “Hey, this is fantastic!” One of those is her canned salmon on hot rice, topped with mayonnaise and black “goma” sesame seeds. I tell ya’, it’s so delicious!
And another is the dish above, which is simply chilled (make sure it’s cold) ripe mango, peeled and sliced into bite-size servings and topped with mayonnaise. Of course the brand of mayonnaise has to be Best Foods (a.k.a. Hellmann’s).
I know what you’re thinking. “Sheez, that’s a totally innocent and healthy mango, and you’re sending it to hell!”. That’s what I thought until I tried it. And you know what? It’s a winner! While I wouldn’t make this a habit, it is an interesting twist.
What I think makes it work is the acidic component in mayonnaise, along with the “fattiness” of it, which compliments by contrast to the sweet, lean and exotic flavor of the mango.
Actually, I squeezed a little too much mayo’ on the dish shown above, which I simply just scooted some off to the side when eating it. You just sort of give a light coat of mayo’ to each slice and whack ‘em. Winnahz.
Give it a try. Since we’re at the peak of mango season, you should have more than enough opportunity to sample this yourself.
At least it’s another idea when you have so many mangoes and not enough ideas to make use of them all. Also, in case you missed it, I recently posted my very own Mango Bruschetta recipe here….
11 comments
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July 14, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Jenny
It’s interesting to think of the food combinations that you wouldn’t necessarily find desirable that turns out to be very ono. My grandmother used to eat avacado halves with a splash of shoyu. We thought it was gross but then I found out other people enjoyed that too, because the saltiness of the shoyu combined well with the creamy avacado. Hey, look at California rolls.
I’m not a big mayo fan and if you were to mention warm mayo I would make a gagging face, but then my husband pointed out that the honey walnut prawns I love so much in my favorite Chinese restaurants are coated with the stuff. So much for preconceived notions.
Your mom obviously has a great palate!
July 14, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Doodoolicious
I love mangos, but hate mayo and the two together sound gross. At first I thought it was yogurt and mangos, now that sounds yummy.
July 14, 2008 at 9:04 pm
pomai
DDL, I love yogurt. Now THAT with mangoes sounds fantastic! Much healthier than mayo’, that’s for sure.
Still, I know mayo’ and mango indeed SOUNDS gross (even looks kinda’ gross), but it tastes really good!
Jenny, wow, shoyu on avocado, huh? Sounds interesting. I’ll give that a try next time I have an avocado on hand.
I actually put extra virgin olive oil “evoo” on Avocado, along with just a pinch of Hawaiian Salt and fresh cracked black pepper. It’s a winner!
Actually, EVOO is the thing I go crazy with, putting it on everything from pasta to toast. I prefer that over butter. It’s also good for you, being a monounsaturated fat, and also has anti-oxidant properties.
Warm mayo’ would make me gag too. lol
July 14, 2008 at 9:27 pm
RobynT
This looks scary, but I’m also kind of curious…
oh, I totally eat shoyu and avocado though. That’s how my mom gave it to me! Eating avocado with sweet stuff strikes me as sort of weird, although I also love avocado and guava jelly sandwiches.
July 15, 2008 at 5:01 am
iCoty
I’m not gonna knock it till I try it…sometimes the weirdest concoctions are surprisingly good!
July 15, 2008 at 5:34 pm
manju
We had mango, we had BF mayo. I immediately got up, went to fridge and tried this. I figure anyone who specifies Best Foods knows her stuff…
I would never in a million years have thought of this combo myself, but it does work esp. with a ripe but still firm mango like in your photo. You’re right, not an everyday thing, but darn tasty! Thank your mom for me.
July 16, 2008 at 6:20 am
Samdooby
OMG!!! Mayo and Mango. Wow, BUT, “do not judge, less we be judged” Right??
Now let’s see. I LOVE mango. I LOVE Mayo. BUT putting to two together, yikes. I may try it but wow, sounds interesting. Personally, I like mango with chile powder and lemon juice. (Real lemon juice)
Anyhow, never know, maybe, just maybe, some “m&m” might be on the menu this week. Aloha!!
July 16, 2008 at 9:13 pm
winnie
My mother used to eat half ripe mangoes with blue cheese dressing. As a kid I thought it was gross, as an adult I came to appreciate it. I will have to try this, after all mayo is one of the major food groups!
July 16, 2008 at 9:57 pm
pomai
Sam, anybody who loves mayo’ has got to love this. It would be interesting to see you put a Mexican twist on it.
iCoty, Robyn, Winnie, see, manju took the plunge and he liked it!
As Manju mentioned, make sure when/if you try it that your mango is chilled really cold, sweet and fully ripe, but still firm, not mushy. Hayden or Pirie would be ideal. If you’re a first-timer, just put a dollop of mayo’ on the side and dip the mango slice in it, then use your finger or a spoon and kinda’ spread it on the mango. Don’t cover the whole dish like I did, just in case you dislike/hate it.
Now an avocado and guavy jelly sandwich, eh? Very, very interesting.
Winnie, I’m curious how the pungent, sharp, slightly salty flavor of Blue Cheese would work with the mango. That’s like leaps and bounds more extreme than mayo, IMO.
July 17, 2008 at 8:22 pm
winnie
Pomai, I know it sounds strange but it really works well together but only with half ripe mangoes. I don’t think I would like blue cheese dressing on a fully ripe mango. I like the way the tartness of the mango cuts through the richness of the dressing. Anyway, it is a combination I have come to enjoy.
July 28, 2008 at 8:47 am
Duckey
Awww these mangos look great! I want to eat your photos! I used mangos the other day in a salsa they have so many uses for sweet or savoury dishes.