Mango is the only fruit that can be consumed in any manner one wants. “This is because no two mangoes are similar,” horticulturalist Kaleemullah Khan tells The Telegraph over a phone call. The 85-year-old, based in Malihabad in Uttar Pradesh, says, “If there are 1,000 mangoes growing on a tree, the seed of each of these will grow into a different variety of mango.” He adds, “The fruits will have some feature or the other that is different from the mother plant.”

Khan himself has grown 1,000 different varieties of mangoes on one single tree through cross- breeding technology. He says “Every region grows a different variety of mango, which they claim as their own. This does not happen with any other fruit.”

He adds, “That is why, when processed, mango lends itself to a plethora of products.”

Moumita Chaudhuri compiles a list of aam products we enjoy right through the year and the varieties they are derived from.

Pickles

Require raw mangoes with high pulp content and less fibre

Varieties: Alphonso from the Konkan; Sendura or Sindhura from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; Ramkela from Uttar Pradesh; Neelam and Gola from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka; Rajapuri from the Konkan region;
Bijju and Sukul from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha; Totapuri from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himsagar from West Bengal

Juice

Requires ripe fruits of the sweet and sour variety; only good quality mangoes without any blemishes or spots are used

Varieties: Fazli, Banganapalli or Safeda, Kohitur from West Bengal and Bihar; Langra from Uttar Pradesh; Raspuri from Karnataka; Jardalu from Bihar

Aam papad or aamsattwa

Requires ripe mangoes, only the late bloomers that ripen in July and August

Varieties: Gopalbhog, Himsagar, Amrapali, Ranipasand, Bharati, Kisanbhog, Mohanbhog and Aswina from West Bengal; Malgoa or Malgova from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala

Candy

Requires sweet and fragrant mangoes

Varieties: Kuttiattoor and Priyoor from Kerala; Champa, Bimli, Monohara from West Bengal; Dudhiya Malda from Bihar and West Bengal; Kesar and Sonpari from Gujarat

Jam and Jelly

Requires sweet and sour mangoes low in fibre content

Varieties: Fazli, Himsagar, Langra and Kishan Bhog from West Bengal; Olor from Tamil Nadu; Banganapalli from southern India; Vanraj from Gujarat

Ice Cream

Requires sweet, flavoured mangoes with less fibre

Varieties: Alphonso from the Konkan; Himsagar from West Bengal; and Kesari from Gujarat