My grandparents are from Margarita, an island in Venezuela, where they harvest the most delicious varieties of mangos on the planet. Or at least this is how I treasure them in my memory. In the courtyard of the house, they had all kind of mangos trees. You can't even begin to imagine what was going on vacation there, where they also also had loquat, papaya and cotoperí. Among the many flavors I cherish from my childhood is a dense green mango preserve that mi abuelita used to make.
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I grew up believing the recipe was labored, but truth to be told it's actually sort of easy. The only secret is that once it's once you're cooking the mango pulp with the sugar, you have to stir constantly with a wooden spoon. And yes, the next time you find green mangos at the market, hurry up and buy them to buy and make this preserve You'll love it. Here's my recipe.
Green mango preserve
Makes 12 servings
Ingredients
5-6 pounds of green mangos, rinsed
1 pound of sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Preparation
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the mangos with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes until the skin of the mangos breaks.
2. Drain the mangos in a colander and let cool down.
3. Using your fingers, peel the mangos and a spoon pulp remove the pulp and discard the skin and the seeds.
4. Weigh the pulp, you should have about 2 pounds of shredded cooked pulp.
5. In a heavy pot, put the mango pulp, sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking and or burning.
6. Once the jelly begins to boil, cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Carefully, to avoid any burning, pour hot mango preserve into a glass refractory mold previously moistened. With a spatula, evenly distribute the preserve.
8. Cool completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.
9. Turn the jelly on a tray, or if you prefer, cut the bits directly from the mold.
Images via Thinkstock
