Mango-Papaya Shake (Smoothies)

One of the most searched posts in this blog is the "Guyabano" Shake or Soursop Smoothies. I was kind of surprise to know that there are many people who are really interested in making the rich beverage. The other day I decided to make another shake/smoothies drink using fresh mango and papaya. I had this before and I really liked the combination of the taste of the two tropical fruits. And as expected it came out as another hit drink. The combined taste is so good you would wish you are in the beach.

Mango is native to Southern Asia, especially Burma and eastern India. It spread early on to Malaya, Eastern Asia and Eastern Africa and was introduced to Santa Barbara, California. Mango exists in two races, one from India and the other from the Philippines and Southeast Asia. The Indian race has flushes of bright red new growth that are subject to mildew and bears fruit of high color and regular form. The Philippine race has pale green or red new growth and resists mildew. Its fruit is pale green and elongated kidney-shaped.

The mango is the apple of the tropics, and one of the most commonly eaten fruits in tropical countries around the world. The flesh of a mango is peach like and juicy, with more or less numerous fibers radiating from the husk of the single large kidney-shaped seed. The flavor is pleasant and rich and high in sugars and acid. A ripe mango is sweet, with a unique taste that nevertheless varies from variety to variety. The texture of the flesh varies between cultivars, some having a soft, pulpy texture similar to an over-ripe plum, while others have firmer flesh like a cantaloupe or avocado.

The papaya is believed to be native to southern Mexico and neighboring Central America. It is now present in every tropical and subtropical country. There are two types of papayas, Hawaiian and Mexican. The Hawaiian varieties are pear-shaped fruit generally weigh about 1 pound and have yellow skin when ripe. The flesh is bright orange or pinkish, depending on variety, with small black seeds clustered in the center. Mexican papayas are much larger and may weigh up to 4 kilos and be more than 15 inches long. The flesh may be yellow, orange or pink. The flavor is less intense than that of the Hawaiian papaya but still is delicious and extremely enjoyable.

The fruit is ripe when it feels soft, softer than a ripe avocado and its skin has attained amber to orange hue. The fruit's taste is vaguely similar to pineapple and peach, although much milder without the tartness. A properly ripened papaya is juicy, sweetish and somewhat like a cantaloupe in flavor, although musky in some types.

To make the Mango-Papaya smoothies I used about 1½ cups each of the flesh of the ripe fruits. The mango is of the KC mango variety popular in Sri Lanka while papaya, harvested from our backyard, I believe, is the Hawaiian type likewise common in the Sri Lankan farms and markets.

For a single blending good for about 3 tall glasses, the few ingredients you will need are ¼ cup sugar syrup (you don’t have it? Ok, dissolve 2~3 tbsp white sugar in ¼ cup hot water), 1 cup cold water, 3 tbsp powdered milk and about 1 tray ice cube. In my "Guyabano" Shake post, I used honey instead of sugar syrup, both are alright. The choice is yours.

To make, just put everything into the blender, cover tightly and pulse it several times until the ice cube and fruits are broken down and blended evenly with the other ingredients.

Pulse it a couple of times more until a smooth, rich and creamy consistency is attained. Don’t over mix.

Pour the refreshing drinks into tall glasses, add some garnish and serve. Enjoy! And while you start to sip the cool goodness, imagine yourself sitting along the famous beaches of beautiful tropical countries. You can choose from either Boracay or Palawan of the Philippines or Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa of Sri Lanka. It will taste even better that way. c“,)