How to Get the World's Best Mangoes in the US, Right Now

This past February, I delved into an extensive investigation into why the world’s best mangoes rarely make it to the US. Here’s the gist: The mangoes you’ve been eating in the United States—mostly varieties like Tommy Atkins (ugh) or Kent (blegh), bred in Florida, grown in and imported from Mexico, boiled before crossing the border—are mere shadows of what mangoes can be. India grows and consumes the world’s most celebrated and delicious mangoes, particularly the saffron-colored Kesar from Gujarat and the “king of mangoes:” the illustrious Alphonso, from Maharasthra.

For decades, importation of mangoes from India into the US was prohibited, until 2007, when the ban was finally lifted in a complex deal that also first allowed Harley-Davidson motorcycles into India.

The lifting of the ban—after years of lobbying on behalf of diplomats, growers, importers, and a determined Pennsylvania dentist—was celebrated at the time, but the myriad challenges involved with getting such a perishable fruit to travel so far have left Indian mangoes still relatively inaccessible in the United States.

That said, Indian mango season is upon us, and I can help you realize your mango destiny. Here’s how to get these coveted, life-changing Indian mangoes.

The dentist who spearheaded the effort to lift the Indian mango ban, Dr. Bhaskar Savani, maintains a family farm of Kesar mangoes near the Gir Forest in Gujarat. These mangoes are now available on Fresh Direct, where they are labeled “Royal Indian Saffron Mangoes” and sold for $3.99 each or two for $7.

As for the more famous Alphonso mango, Savani is still waiting on USDA approval to distribute through Fresh Direct. But there are other importers that are currently selling genuine Indian Alphonso mangoes online. Perhaps the largest of these is Mangozz, which sells a box of about a dozen (six to eight pounds) for $79.99—or just under $7 per mango—on their website. Organic Alphonsos are available for a premium, at $99.99 per box. That’s a hefty price for a fruit, but warranted for something that has to be flown by plane from India.

Alternatively, you could visit or call an Indian grocery and inquire about their Indian mango supply. Although the Alphonso and Kesar are the most famous, the Langra, Chausa, and Banganpalli will also make your supermarket mangoes seem like cardboard. Mangozz sells a number of varieties other than the Alphonso.

The challenges of getting the mangoes to a store or your pantry all the way from India without spoiling are real, and in some cases, insurmountable. It’s entirely possible that you’ll pay a considerable sum for these mangoes only to have them arrive overripe, or in a generally less-than-perfect condition. Jaidev Sharma, the president of Mangozz, generously overnighted me a box of six Alphonso mangoes. Five of them arrived overripe, with lumps and dark spots that I had to cut off. But when I cut around the imperfections, I was rewarded with deep orange mango flesh that was sweet as candy but more complex, with hints of caramel and black currant.

This won’t happen with commercial varieties which are selected for their agricultural uniformity and picked under-ripe to maximize economy and efficiency of the supply chain. But the perfect-looking mangoes that fit that description, as I mentioned before, suck. They’ll all be uniformly lame. Mother Nature isn’t always pretty or perfect; is it worth it to withstand some duds for a chance at an epiphany?

I say yes. So peel open your wallets and let the juices flow.