Red Mango – Spicy Preserved Fruits of Trinidad and Tobago.
If you’ve ever had the pleasure of taking the drive over the Northern Range to the most popular beach in Trinidad, there’s no way you could miss the lookout stop where everyone stops for pictures and to enjoy some of the preserved treats that are sold by local vendors. If you’re lucky (we’ve not seen him the past couple times we were there) you may even encounter a fella with a guitar who serenades visitors with his guitar and calypso music.
Last week we took the drive a couple times as we tried to make the most of our vacation and enjoy the amazing weather, since we knew we were coming back to almost winter-like weather in Canada. Here’s a short video clip showing some of the preserved fruits that are sold at the look-out stop. I believe this way of preserving is influenced by the Chinese part of our heritage. It’s a combination of boiling or drying the fruit, then cooking it briefly in some sort of red food dye and a combination of spices and hot pepper.
As a boy I remember buying such preserves, but the options were limited to mango, plum and cherries. I was quite amazed to see the many other fruits that are now preserved.. even ones not found in the Caribbean, like peaches and olives.
BTW, the vendors also carry a wide selection of packages snacks (cookies, corn chips etc), as well as other island favourites like, tamarind ball, toolum, sugar cake, mango chow and “chinee” prunes.
In case you’re wondering what the name of the beach is, it’s called Maracas Bay and it’s a great place to cool off on the weekends. But be warned that the beach is a favourite with locals on the weekend, so expect crowds. We went 2 times during the week and we pretty much had the beach just to ourselves. And though it was not busy, the life guards were still on duty.
Hi Chris,
I wanted to know if you kniw the nutritional value of homemade red spicy Mango. I made some using monkfruit instead of regular sugar and it turned out amazing. Since monk fruit has no calories and I used green mango I think this might be a more duet friendly treat. Have you ever tried it?
Is the recipe a secret if not please publish
Hi Chris, do you know there is a type of preserved mango that is done just like salt prunes? The orange coloured one. We used to call it salt mango but I dunno if that is the real name. Do you happen to know how to make it? Thanks!
where de dam mango recipie
u r from Trinidad y r u talking like u r from the U.S.A
Sorry to disappoint you but is an educated man
Chris, but where is the red mango recipe boy?
where can i purchase online im currently on hawaii chris
Please post a recipe for red mango! My grand ma use to make and sell and now I wish I could remember how she made it!!
please post the recipe for soaked preserve red mango….
I live in London, and wanted to know where or how i can get red pepper mango to by, my wife and i love it so much…..
Chris, I noticed prices on the caps of the bottled preserves. In what unit of measure are these sold? By volume or weight?
Rudy, I believe they're sold by piece in most cases. Some are already pre packaged as well. they may contains a few pieces of the item.
OMG..im sooo envious right now. I am pregnant and craving these preserve fruits from trinidad. Feel like booking a ticket just to come to buy them. Pity it's a 10 hr flight 🙁
Whe de recipe fuh de red mango deh?
Re: aka_lol, thanks for your wonderful comments. Much appreciated.
Happy Cooking.
Chris
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I envy this site/blog. It is lively and tempting to visit.
I just added you to my blog list and keep up the great work!
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