In May, mangoes are in full season… But that was before.
At that time, around mid-May, all the markets were filled with sunny yellow Canh Nong mangoes, arranged on dry straw. No one who went to the market did not buy at least a dozen mangoes because in the season, mangoes were much cheaper than other fruits. Furthermore, mangoes were only at their peak for 2 weeks, then gradually decreased. Therefore, during these 2 weeks, almost everyone's house had mangoes. Everywhere you went, you could smell the fragrance of mangoes. Ripe Canh Nong mangoes were sweet, very fragrant, and had a distinct fragrance. Coming home from the market, it was hard to hide mangoes in the house. Cat mangoes were also fragrant, but their fragrance was more discreet and did not spread far, not as alluring as Canh Nong mangoes.
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At that time, along the road, in the garden or in the yard, you could only see Canh Nong mango trees. Growing Canh Nong mangoes was like planting for fun to eat for real. Just plant them there to get shade like a perennial tree, sometimes without taking care of them, when the mango season comes, they will bloom and bear fruit, and there will be a lot of fruit. Canh Nong mangoes are like mackerel, they are cheap not because they are not delicious but because they are abundant, they ripen together in a short time, and they cannot be kept for long. Natural fruits are often not perfect. Canh Nong mangoes are juicy, succulent, easily bruised, difficult to load and unload on trucks to transport far away, if they are not sold today, they will be spoiled tomorrow.
Even though it is sweet and fragrant when ripe, Canh Nong raw mangoes are also extremely sour. In addition to being easily bruised and spoiled quickly, mangoes must also be picked at the right age, when the tip of the stem is just slightly yellow, and only when the mango is ripe will it reach its most fragrant and sweetest state. If the mango is not picked at the right age, even if it is ripe, it will still be somewhat sour. Leaving it to ripen on the tree is even worse, as the fruit that is ripened on the tree will become mushy and discolored, making it almost inedible. In the past, people who bought mangoes often bought the whole tree, and when it was time to pick, they would pick it all at once so that the fruit would not ripen on the tree.
Then, at one point, Canh Nong mangoes gradually lost their value when a series of new mango varieties appeared, colloquially called Tu Quy mangoes, Keo mangoes, Deo mangoes... Then Thai mangoes, Australian mangoes, Indian mangoes, Taiwanese mangoes... These mangoes have almost no season, they are available all year round, when unripe they are less sour, especially the Thai mango variety which can be eaten raw, when ripe they are not as sweet as Canh Nong mangoes, and are also less fragrant, some varieties are almost not fragrant. But they are less bruised because they have less water and even when ripe they can be kept for many days, convenient to carry far away. However, if you pay attention, you will see that most of the new mango varieties age very quickly, meaning they only last for the first few crops, after which the fruit gradually deteriorates.
Recently, Canh Nong mango trees have been almost completely cut down. Some families do not want to cut down the trees, so they just let the fruit ripen and fall all over the yard and roof without bothering to pick it up. Because the market is almost gone, and no traders transport it far away, in recent years, only those who come to Nha Trang in May, during the mango season, have the opportunity to taste the taste of ripe Canh Nong mangoes.
When Canh Nong mangoes were thought to have quietly faded into oblivion, suddenly in May this year, a few sellers appeared at the market, and buyers flocked in droves. Upon asking, we learned that the price was twice as high as that of Thai or Taiwanese mangoes. Perhaps time is the most reliable witness. People flocked to buy not necessarily because Canh Nong mangoes were more delicious than other new, less sour mango varieties. It still had its old habits, meaning that some fruits were still a bit sour or the inside was mushy. But people believed that it was truly a fruit of nature, blooming and bearing fruit in season, ripening in season, without human intervention, without genetic modification, without crossbreeding, without stimulants. Seeing Canh Nong mangoes still covered in black planthoppers because they were not sprayed with pesticides was like seeing crooked garden jackfruits with worms, or bunches of wild purslane and amaranth.
And it's been a long time since I heard the phrase "take it home to make fish sauce and sugar to eat".
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