Waste Not, Want Not!

There’s a mango tree on our property at Belmont that just keeps on giving, and we do our best to ensure that every bit of the luscious fruit is used in one form or another. Mac planted the tree in our front yard well before building the house and, although he never got a chance to taste the mangoes, we enjoy them every single day of the year! Nik carefully built a fish pond around the majestic tree, and any fruit that doesn’t fall on the the lawn during the season is happily gobbled up  by hundreds of mango-loving tilapia.

Our tree is called “tens of thousands”, a moniker I’m sure very few people are familiar with. It’s an unusual name for a mango, so perhaps it’s called something entirely different elsewhere. The mangoes are on the small side and fall only when fully ripe, which means they’re too soft for dehydrating, or making mousses and cakes. However, the little “tens of thousands” are perfect in our fruit smoothies, delicious concoctions we drink every single morning on Bequia, and we’re grateful for the generosity of the hard-working mango tree!

Nik and I also work hard to ensure that every scrap of mango is used, our motto being, “waste not, want not!”  When the “tens of thousands”  begin to drop we collect them from the yard, then wash, slice and scoop the fruit from the skins. The prepared mango is then placed in the freezer for use throughout the entire year, lucky us! We process the fruit every morning until the tree is bare, and not a scrap is wasted. Nik gives a bit of mango skin to his layer hens, and the discarded pits are enjoyed by our goats.

Our grandchildren were here recently, and it happened to be the first time they had visited Bequia during mango season. They helped Nik and I collect and process the “tens of thousands” each morning, making sure to put aside a bagful for themselves to enjoy at the beach later in the day. The small mangoes have a distinct flavour – almost a resiny aftertaste that’s quite pleasing to the tastebuds – but I only use them for smoothies because they are soft and rather messy.  My grandchildren aren’t as “picky” as grand-ma; they were more than happy to snack on the delicious mangoes in the sea with their

cousins, returning home salty, sunburnt, sandy and sticky, with big smiles on their faces after a day at the beach.

Our “tens of thousands” tree has provided us with delicious mangoes for many years, bearing copious amounts of fruit each season. I think it’s the perfect name for such a bountiful tree, sometimes I wonder how one tree can possibly hold so many mangoes! The fruit is never wasted; the fish, chickens and goats (and yes, the grandchildren too!) are happy to eat whatever we don’t, which I think is a win-win situation…….