Cambodian mangoes

If talking about mango, we have plenty species and now it is the season for mango in Cambodia. In my previous posts about fruits season, I talked a bit about mango. Many people told me Cambodia has the best mango taste in the world, including my fellow Cambodian people who are living abroad and Indian friends who would ship mango back to India for their families for that reason. 

There are several species of mango! Mango takes about 3-4 years to yield fruits depending on species and it is big tree, good to bear fruits and when the tree dies, it is good to use as firewood. The very famous and expensive one is Keo Chen [great aroma and very milky sweet] (in the 2nd photo)

Unseasonal mango, yield without season

First class mango: Keo Chen mango (a kilo is 2.5$ for 3-4 fruits)

Mango is one among three types of fruits that provide immediate energy with longan and banana. Actually, you can eat mango in various ways:

• Eat when they are still very tiny & green (before even it has seed), sour but also people love to eat them with salt & chili mixed, some even make mango pickle and keep to eat for a long time.
• Eat when it is bigger, but still green, with salt & chili mixed. 
• People also use green mango to add sour taste into food, in daily meal. Mango itself can be vegetables for mango salad. I love it very much especially if you mix it with smoked fish and dried shrimp!
• Eat before it is ripe, a bit sour and sweet - I love this one most. It is rich with Vitamin C and boost energy. It is one of the important afternoon snack that cannot be missed. It can be eaten with salt & chili mixed or fermented fish sauce with brown sugar or with shrimp paste dip sauce. I am drooling just writing about it now In my article about Snacks around Cambodia, I have also shown about mango.
• When it is getting ripen, mango can be used as fruit, sweet and dessert (eat with sticky rice), eat together with white rice as food (elderly people love it), icecream, smoothie, and then process as mango jam. Mango jam is two ways - either pudding and keep in the jar or a dry one which you eat like crispy snack.

Few names of mango I know exist in Cambodia but there are more depends on areas. It is grown around Cambodia. 

No	Khmer name	Explanation in English
1	ស្វាយកែវចិន Keo Chen	Top class, most expensive one, big enough with great aroma and milky sweet to the tongue
2	ស្វាយកែវរមៀត Keo Romiet	Common to eat when they are about ripe, taste great - good to make jam and export
3	ស្វាយខ្ទិះ Svay Khtis	Worth eating green, crispy and tastes nice
4	ស្វាយពុំសែន (ឬព្រំសែន) Svay Pumsen	Very sour when green, add sour to food taste, very sweet when ripen
5	ស្វាយមួង Svay Muong	Rare and not seen much anymore but very sweet and so much flesh
6	ស្វាយខុសរដូវ Svay Khos Rodov	Yield all the time, small fruits, sour when green but very sweet and great aroma when ripen
7	ស្វាយប៉ម Svay Pom	Small fruit and round like apple, worth to eat when green, good to make jam too
8	ស្វាយឆ្អេះ Svay Chaes	It smells not so nice, smell like urine but also sweet
9	ស្វាយតាឡាំ Svay Talam	Rare and maybe extinct already but I had it when I was a kid. It is very small - very sour when green but sweet and smells so nice when ripen.
10	ស្វាយនាងផាវ Svay Neang Phav	Sweet but smells not so nice
11	ស្វាយអាហួត Svay Ahout	Very big and green, I have never had it when it is ripen, people love it when green

Please read here for more insight about mangoes in Cambodia. 

Pum Sen mango

Keo Romiet mango - much flesh and sweet

Wood-apple (ខ្វិត)​ with mango and hog plum

Green mango as dip sauce with grilled fishMy mom dried this mango pudding at homeCooking rice at site and packed rice - green mango is used with dip sauce to eat with fresh grilled fish