Now, this is a fruit that brings summer, memories of travel and the hope of sunshine into our home all year round. My kids and husband love mangoes, me not so much. But I love making mango puree and mango ice cream for them. It’s one of the easiest purees to make. Just dump, blend and freeze.
The mango is also great because it is so versatile. It pairs well with other purees as well as makes a good mix-in for rice cereal, oatmeal and yogurt. When you have brand new eaters you want to introduce new flavors more than once and in more than one form. Toddlers love this puree in yogurt and bigger kids will happily eat this (and other purees) mixed into oatmeal with whole fruit on top.
How do you know when a mango is ripe?
You can tell when a mango is ripe when you press on it and feels a bit soft. You want it to have a little give like a ripe peach or plum. Mangoes do continue to ripen off the tree, so I usually buy a few at a time. I like to buy them at varying degrees of ripeness so that they last all week and ripen one or two at a time, instead of all on the same day. I’ve had mangoes take 7-10 to get to the perfect softness, and those are sometimes, the sweetest and juiciest ones of the haul!
So, then why are you using frozen mango in these recipes?
When I make purees, I like to be efficient. The frozen mango allows me to make mango puree and mango ice cream at a moments notice. I also find that the consistency in texture and taste is better for this puree when starting with frozen mango.
A few fun facts about mangos from the Mango Board:
- Mangoes are 3 times more than bananas and 10 times more than apples worldwide!
- Mangoes are OLD. Mango seeds traveled with humans from Asia to the Middle East, East Africa and South America beginning around 300 or 400 A.D.
- Mangoes are related to cashews and pistachios
Who knew they were such a well traveled, well loved, ancient fruit? Certainly not me, until I did a little research. But, I digress...
Are you wondering why we get so excited about mango ice cream yet?
Because it feels good to say YES when the kids ask for dessert. Because it makes them happy to have “ice cream” after a meat meal (we keep kosher, so that’s a real treat). Because it comes together in less than 5 minutes! Because coconut makes everything better...for real.
I use coconut milk and coconut oil a lot. Sometimes for healthy reasons, sometimes because its a great dairy substitute and mostly because we all like the flavor. Try these carrot-zucchini muffins with coconut oil and you’ll see what I mean.
Mango Puree "recipe"
- Defrost frozen mango in bag (any size will work) for about 20 minutes
- Put entire bag of frozen mango into high speed blender
- Puree to desired consistency
Mango “ice cream” Recipe
- 1 15oz can coconut milk - well shaken
- 1 bag frozen mango - defrosted for a few minutes
Directions
- Add frozen mango and well shaken coconut milk to high speed blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Enjoy immediately or portion into 4oz mason jars and freeze.
- When defrosting, either take out of freezer about 30 minutes before eating, or microwave 10-15 seconds and stir.
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