Indian Mangos Reach New York

New York, NY —

It's taken a few thousand years but the journey of the Indian mango to the New World has finally come to an end. The first shipment of USDA approved mangos recently arrived at JFK airport. WNYC's Arun Venugopal has more on the excitement the mango's arrival in America has generated with Indians and foodies alike.

REPORTER: If you've been following the coverage in the Indian Post, the Hindu, and the Times of India - or the Times of New York - you know by now that India's finest have finally landed on American shores. The first shipment of Indian mangos arrived at the end of April, and will keep coming through June, when the season ends. There was a press event in DC to celebrate, featuring the US Secretary of Agriculture.

But just where are these mangos? So far, none have appeared in stores. This is causing some customers to grow restless. Harshad Patel is the owner of Patel Brothers, in Jackson Heights. With over 10 million dollars in annual sales, it's the city's biggest Indian grocery store.

PATEL: They call. They read the newspaper and the Internet and everything. They call and say, 'When are you getting the mango.' Lots calls. Everyday they asking. When they come in the store, they say 'When you getting?' We say 'Oh, we're getting next week, tomorrow, tomorrow.' They say 'Oh. tomorrow never come.'

REPORTER: For Westerners who haven't tasted Indian mangos, all of this might seem a bit quaint, or sentimental. But according to Madhur Jaffrey, the actress and Indian cookbook author, that's because they've never experienced the breed of Indian mango known as the Alfonso. The Alfonso and the Kesar are the two varieties that are improved for import. But the Alfonso is the most exalted of the thousand-odd varieties of Indian mango, and according to Jaffrey, the hype is entirely justified.

JAFFREY: They will get the finest fruit on earth. That's what this - [it's] as simple as that. They will get something they've never tasted. It's the flavor. It's a mixture. It has a range of sweet and sour. The likes of which you don't find in a Florida mango. And there's no fiber.

REPORTER: The man largely responsible for bringing Indian mangos into the US is Bhaskar Savani. He's a dentist from Philadelphia whose father and grandfather have grown mangos back home, in Gujarat. He also has a soft spot for Indian farmers, who produce half the world's mangos and then watch as much of the crop rots for lack of a market.

But he also knows that he's sitting on top of an enormous business opportunity.

SAVANI: Not immediate future but I'm thinking about 5 or 10 years long-term vision here, It's truly a creation of a billion dollar economy. Not just only the fresh fruit but once people like this Alfonso, people will know what's Kesar taste. They will like to have it in McDonald's smoothies, or McDonald's milkshakes. Why not the Wendy's, why not the Burger King?

REPORTER: Costco also says it's considering Indian mangos. There's just one thing the company's looking into, and that's gamma radiation, which is now required for imported fruit. Indian mangos have to be irradiated to make sure a particular pest, known as the mango seed weevil, doesn't enter the U.S. surreptitiously. But Savani, backed up by a number of scientific studies and a clean bill of health from the USDA, claims it's a fairly harmless process - something like microwaving or pasteurization. He says it even extends the shelf life of the fruit.

But ultimately, he's convinced it's the flavor that will sell Indian mangos, so when he drove up from Philadelphia to New York, he arrived with a box under his arms - half of them Alfonsos and half the pulpier, milkshake-friendly variety known as Kesars.

So I took a few of them to Daniel restaurant, run by Daniel Boulud. Two of his pastry chefs incorporate mangos in their desserts. One of them, Dominique Ansel, brought out his Tahitian Vanilla Bavaroise with Mango-Cilantro Gelee, accompanied by an intense Passion Fruit-Banana sorbet. The other chef is Cafe Boulud's Eric Bertoia, who makes a Roasted Champagne mango and coconut bibingka cake, with mango sorbet.

They've been using Mexican mangos, and are pretty happy with them. But they each took an Alfonso in hand, brought it up to their noses, and sniffed deeply.

BERTOIA: [sniffing mango] very intensive vanilla... peach too...

ANSEL: It smells really good. [spoon clatters]

REPORTER: And then they scooped their spoons into the saffron-colored flesh and tasted it.

BERTOIA: The Mexican mango is heavy, but this one is very light. It disappears in your mouth.

ANSEL: It tastes... amazing. It's really really good.

REPORTER: And then, they asked for Bhaskar Savani's phone number, in the hopes of securing some mangos for their restaurant. Until that day when they arrive in the market, they and other fans of India's magical mangos will have to keep pining for the object of their affection.

May 12. 2007: The first 100 boxes of Alfonso mangos finally arrived at Patel Brothers yesterday, but were sold in a flash. However, another shipment is expected tomorrow. The store's located on 74th street, near the Jackson Heights subway stop. A dozen mangos are retailing for $35.