FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Two masters of mangoes share recipes

By Wanda A. Adams
Food Editor

With the number of "Grandma gardens" that have been bulldozed, pruned or grassed over on the Islands, the days are almost gone — at least on urban O'ahu — when you find yourself sneaking sacks of excess mangoes onto a neighbor's porch or coming home to a kitchen counter that is nothing but a sea of mangoes, knowing you'll be chopping for chutney all weekend.

Still, most of us know of a yard or two where we can score a ripe, fleshy mango in season, and mangoes are readily available in farmers markets and supermarkets — if you can bring yourself to pay for them.

In Hawai'i, the mango recipe repertoire of the average home cook is surprisingly narrow. We eat them fresh, we make pickled mango, we make chutney, maybe we make a mango pie, and maybe we use green mango in a Vietnamese-style salad. Pau.

Two new cookbooks suggest that we may have missed a boat or two in this way.

Allen Susser's "The Great Mango Book" (Ten Speed Press, paperback, $14.95) is another in a series of eye-catching, photo-filled "guides with recipes" from the San Francisco-based publisher. The long narrow format may look great on display racks but it's not particularly well suited to cooking — it's best to copy out the recipe or stick the book in a cookbook holder. But Susser's wealth of mango information makes the book worthwhile.

Susser, chef-owner of Miami's Chef Allen's, and an inventor of what's called "New World Cuisine" — a melange of American, Caribbean, Mexican and even Asian influences — begins with a guide to 56 mango varieties, taking you far beyond Haden and Pirie (the former is in the guide but the latter gets only a passing mention). Florida cultivars prevail but there are discussions for varieties from Mexico, India, the Philippines, Hawai'i and elsewhere.

Half the 160-page book is devoted to cooking with mangoes, including a useful guide to cutting the pesky, monster-seeded fruit. Susser offers simple directions for drying mango and includes recipes for a mojo (Cuban-style marinade), salsas, a vinaigrette and several interesting condiments to enliven simple steamed or grilled dishes.

"The Mongo Mango Cookbook" (Pineapple Press, paper, $12.95) is by writer Cindy Thuma, "who lives in Boca Raton with her husband, son and two mango trees." Although this book is somewhat Florida-centric and more modest than the Ten Speed production, it includes more history, legend, literature and lore about mango than Susser's guide — and simpler recipes.

I've seen Susser's book in stores but Thuma's might have to be ordered (www.pineapplepress.com). Amazon.com has both books on sale now as a package for $22.32.