Mango: Fruit of the Gods

O, you honey-pilfering bee!

Greedy as ever for fresh honey!

Once, you lovingly kissed

The mango’s fresh spray of flowers-

And forgotten her? So quickly?

Shakuntala: The Ring of Remembrance (5th Century CE) by Kālidāsa

Mangoes have been cultivated in Cambodia since before 5th century BC,

but the fruit is native to India. Khmer mangoes are fiberless. And they are

just as good as those you’d find in India. There are a few dozen mango varieties

in Cambodia, the most prized variety is svay keo chin. Svay is the Khmer word

for mango. Keo means glass/crystal and it refers to the majority of mango

varieties as well as women because of their exquisite shape and curvature.

My personal favorite is svay khos rdauv (out of season mango) and just

as the name implies, this particular variety bears fruit out of season.

svay khos rdauv