Mango — which Higashikokubaru promoted energetically as Miyazaki governor. With cherimoya and mangosteen, it ranks among the world's three great fruits; besides Miyazaki, it is a specialty of Okinawa, Kagoshima, and elsewhere. Originally from the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand. Japanese consumers favor the Nam Dok Mai variety for high sugar and fine texture; most imports are Nam Dok Mai — Thai for "flower dew." Mangoes are said to taste best as the rainy season ends. They are praised for skin benefits, cancer prevention, and cardiovascular health, but as Anacardiaceae they can cause rash in allergic people — handle peel and juice with care. The standard cut is "flower cut," essentially a three-slice method: avoid the flat central seed, slice top and bottom like filleting fish, score the cut faces in a grid, then push the skin from both hands to invert the flesh into a flower shape. Whether to bite into the seed section or slice it neatly is up to you.
