“We think Chicago is the mango capital of the world.” It’s a bold argument from Jaidev “Jai” Sharma, owner of MangoZZ, but surprisingly, it has its merits. Sharma operates a warehouse in Romeoville, where, for a few brief summer weeks, premium mangoes from all over the Indian subcontinent mingle together.
The door is locked and unlabelled. I thought I was in the wrong place until the scent of about 1,000 mangoes stacked high on pallets reached my nose. As we walked around, Sharma opened boxes, examined individual fruit and explained the various varieties.
It wasn’t my first time visiting. Every time, I’ve witnessed Sharma shuffling mangoes between boxes. Darkening or overly soft fruit comes out, ripening fruit goes in.
Sharma constantly speaks of his mangoes as if they’re people, each variety like a finicky cousin or aunt visiting from the homeland. A Kesar is compared to a daughter, consistently sweet. An Alphonso is compared to a son, only good when they’re really good.
“Mango is not a product,” he said. “It’s a living thing.” His job is to nurture life and optimize ripening so customers can get the best of a mango’s natural sweetness.
“There is intelligence in a thing like a mango ...
There is life and intelligence.” They try to screen and select the best mangoes, but it’s a process prone to errors. A promising early inspection of a green mango may be misleading about its ripened state.
To get the best mangoes at the proper ripeness, tec.
