National Fruit of India

Mango is the national fruit of India. Our country is home to many kinds of unique fruits that are seasonal in nature. Every season our country provides hordes of fruit cultivation that are exported to different parts of the world and contribute to the revenue of the nation.

Fruits are tropical and seasonal in nature. Our country is home to surplus cultivation of famous fruits like apples, grapes, mangoes, chikkoos, musk melons, oranges, bananas etc. these fruits are grown by different methods of cultivation and involve intense farming practices for careful cultivation.

Fruits are usually expensive in off seasons but are available at reasonable price in the right seasons. Fruits carry their own rich source of vitamins and minerals that are very essential to the body and hair.

Fresh fruits bring in a rich glow on our faces and keep our skin bright. Fruits rich in vitamin C are known to be good to the immunity and those that are rich in antioxidants are known to have curative properties of cancer as well.

Store House of Nutrients

Children are given fresh fruits and fruit juices early in the morning as it is a good supplement with breakfast. Also, fruits are stomach fillers and they have a whole load of nutrients to fill our body with essential vitamins, minerals that our body requires.

Fruits are best consumed in the morning. Fresh fruits that are not frozen or kept open for a long time are best for consumption. Fruits that are kept in the open attract a lot of germs and insects and take away all the vital essentials of fruits.

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Mango in India is known as the king of all fruits as this fruit contains surplus varieties and every region in India is blessed with a unique variety of this fruit. There are royal varieties on one side and on the other hand, there are commonly available varieties as well that can be bought at reasonable prices.

Mango is the common man’s favorite fruit as it is available at reasonable prices during the summer seasons. It is a good fruit for quenching thirst and an ideal fruit for summer. It contains the goodness of Vitamin A, C, important carotenoids and also a store house of antioxidants.

Multi Purpose Mango

Mango finds its way into the Indian kitchen and is converted into many tasty recipes across different regions of the country. Some common preparations of mangoes include jams, jellies, juices, ice creams and candies, confectioneries, milk shakes, pickles, curries, chutneys, soups, rasam etc.

People innovate with their recipes and experiment with the fruit preparations to come up with tasty recipes. During the summer months, the big juice manufacturing giants feast by buying mangoes in surplus quantities to stock in their factories and manufacture juices to be sold across the different corners of the country and is exported to various parts of the world as well.

Occurrence of Mangoes

Fruit varieties in mangoes include the raspuri, badam, neelam, bainganpally, alphonso, kesar, amrapali etc. that are available in large quantities during the summer months. Mangoes are easily available in many Asian countries and India is no exception.

Many neighboring countries of India such as Bangladesh and Myanmar also cultivate mangoes, and they have different varieties in their lands as well. History has a great place for the mango fruit. We can find many great poets like Kalidasa sing praises of mango in their creations.

It is quite well-known about Akbar’s liking for the fruit such that he developed acres and acres of mango gardens near Bihar. He had ordered his men to plant a huge number of saplings around the region of Bihar and it has been etched in history as well.

Alexander the Great had a particular fondness for this fruit, and he came to know about it through his tours to the Indian subcontinent and when he went back to his native country, he is known to have carried hordes of mango fruit collections to his home land.

Such is the significance of the mango that it is available in different sizes, unique shapes and the colors they display are a feast to the eyes.

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Many varieties are cultivated in hybrid methods and we can find out from horticultural departments about the variations in their sizes. Mangoes come in such big sizes and varieties that leave us dumbstruck by their appearance.

Mango tree provides usefulness not just by providing mango fruits, but the leaves of the mango trees are equally significant. In most of the south Indian festivals and important occasions, mango leaves are very special.

Big and broad mango leaves are chosen and tied one after the other onto a string to be tied in front of the main door entrance. No festival in southern India is complete without the mango leaves being tied at the entrance in the manner described above.

Different Varieties & Sizes

Mango being a seeded fruit grows on trees that grow in different sizes and a mango tree usually reaching up to a height of 40 meters. The smell of mango trees is very pleasant due to their leaves. Mango trees also bear white flowers that are very delightful to watch.

The pulp of the mango fruit tastes sweet, some tastes sour and may contain a bit of a tangy taste as well. Unripened fruit varieties are also useful in case of mangoes and they can be eaten raw.

The specialty of mangoes is that, out of the many varieties available under them, a selective few varieties of mangoes are pulpy and can be used for jams and juices.

A few other varieties are fit for pickles alone whereas other raw varieties can be tasted as is by just discarding the seed within the fruit.

Mango fruits ripen and are seen emerging out of trees exactly around the time when the Hindu new year begins. Hence, the fruit actually hold great cultural significance and is known to be a favorite fruit of many Hindu gods and goddesses.

A cluster of five mango leaves are mandatory to be placed on all auspicious containers of Hindu culture and forms a very important part of Hindu values and traditions.