The Ataúlfo mango is a

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast As ...

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

from

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. Ataúlfo mangos are golden yellow and generally weigh between , with a somewhat sigmoid shape ("S"-shaped) and a gold-yellow skin. The flesh is not fibrous, and the pit is thin. They were named for grower Ataúlfo Morales Gordillo. Since August 27, 2003, the Ataúlfo mango is one of the 18 Mexican Designations of Origin.

Origin

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial) granted the

designation of origin Designation may refer to: * Designation (law), the process of determining an incumbent's successor * Professional certification * Designation (landmarks), an official classification determined by a government agency or historical society * Designa ...

of this fruit to the government of

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

. Along with the

Manilita mango The 'Manilita' mango is a named mango cultivar that originated in Mexico. History Manilita came from the Pacific coast of southern Mexico. It is descended from the Philippine mango variety brought from Manila, Philippines (hence the name Manil ...

, it is a descendant of the

Philippine mango The Carabao mango, also known as the Philippine mango or Manila mango among other names, is a variety of particularly sweet mango from the Philippines. It is one of the most important varieties of mango cultivated in the Philippines. The variet ...

cultivar introduced from the Philippines to Mexico before 1779 through the

Manila-Acapulco galleon trade The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spanish trading ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of Man ...

. It was crossed with other mango varieties, resulting in the Ataúlfo. Regardless, Ataúlfo remains a Philippine-type mango, characterized by being

polyembryonic Polyembryony is the phenomenon of two or more embryos developing from a single fertilized egg. Due to the embryos resulting from the same egg, the embryos are identical to one another, but are genetically diverse from the parents. The genetic differ ...

(as opposed to the Indian-type which is

monoembryonic Monoembryony is the emergence of one and only one seedling from a seed. A seed giving two or more seedlings is polyembryonic. Some of the nuclear cells surrounding the embryo sac In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to an ...

). In 2003, the Mexican government, through the Official Gazette, published Comunicado No. 14 – 2003 titled "Abstract of the application for the declaration (protection) of the

Appellation of Origin A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town or region). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, is inten ...

: Mango Ataúlfo del Soconusco Chiapas", a declaration that the term "Mango Ataúlfo del Soconusco Chiapas" is an appellation of origin for a specific kind of mango fruit produced in several regions of

, Mexico where the Ataúlfo mango was first grown.

Description

Ataulfo mangoes are mango distinguished by their smooth, non-fibrous texture and rich, sweet flavor. The flavor has little tartness, and may be described as having hints of peach, pineapple, and floral undertones, contributing to a fragrant and aromatic profile. In comparison to other common mango varieties such as the Haden, Kent, or Tommy Atkins, Ataulfo mangoes have similar levels of sugar content, about 15% of fresh weight when ripe. Ataulfo mangoes are also sold (especially in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) under the trade names "champagne mango", "honey mango", and "Manila mango", all of which are names which originally applied to the

(the progenitor of the Ataulfo) in the early 20th century

American colonial period of the Philippines American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

Production

The fruit grows in warm, moist climates with summer rains, but

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

temperatures must not decline to 5 °C. The proper temperature for this type of mango is 28 °C with rainfall between 1090–3000 mm annually, from April to October. The Ataúlfo mangoes originate in the Mexican states of Michoacan, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Veracruz and Chiapas, and are sold between March and September. Ataúlfo production was concentrated in the

Soconusco Soconusco is a region in the southwest corner of the state of Chiapas in southeastern Mexico along its border with Guatemala. It is a narrow strip of land wedged between the Sierra Madre de Chiapas mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is the sout ...

coastal region. Overall, producer organizations estimated that there were 18,000 hectares of Ataúlfo mangoes in production in the state. There are several pests that influence the growth and production of the mangoes including fruit flies and mango seed weevil. Until 2014, Mexican Ataúlfo mangoes had not been sold in significant numbers in Europe because shipping them by air was prohibitively expensive. In December 2014, shipments by sea began via one United Kingdom importer using timed pre-ripe harvesting combined with faster sea-shipping that enabled full mango ripening while in transit. European customers are willing to pay significantly more than North American customers, if the mangos are of high quality and are sold ready-to-eat.

Consumption

Ataúlfo mangoes were first consumed in the United States beginning in the late 1990s, though they have been a major crop in Mexico for decades. As of 2009, they were the second-most consumed variety of mango sold in the U.S., behind the

Tommy Atkins Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is slang for a common soldier in the British Army.carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s, 1%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, and 1%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

(table). In a reference amount of , raw Autaulfo mango supplies 71

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy that originated from the caloric theory of heat. The large calorie, food calorie, dietary calorie, kilocalorie, or kilogram calorie is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one liter o ...

s, and is a rich source of

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

(187% of the

Daily Value In the U.S. and Canada, the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) is used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products to indicate the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97� ...

, DV) and a moderate source of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

(11% DV) (table). The Ataulfo mango is a source of B-carotene, a provitamin A

carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...

Phytochemicals

Ataulfo mangoes contain diverse

polyphenol Polyphenols () are a large family of naturally occurring phenols. They are abundant in plants and structurally diverse. Polyphenols include phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannic acid, and ellagitannin, some of which have been used historically as ...

s, including

gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plant ...

and

catechin Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of secondary metabolite providing antioxidant roles in plants. It belongs to the subgroup of polyphenols called flavonoids. The name of the catechin chemical family derives from ''catechu'', which is the tannic ...

s, and

mangiferin Mangiferin is a glucosylxanthone (xanthonoid). This molecule is a glucoside of norathyriol. Natural occurrences Mangiferin was first isolated from the leaves and bark of ''Mangifera indica'' (the mango tree). It can also be extracted from mang ...

, the contents of which fluctuate by harvest timing and growing conditions.

References