Mangoes are members of the sumac family and are related to cashews. In the tropical zones where they grow, mango groves are a real sight: The trees, with their thick umbrella of shiny leaves, form a true oasis--and the fruit grows like upside-down lollipops on long stems, hanging down.

Fragrant and delicious though they are, mangos can be a real source of frustration when you are trying to cut one. The pit always seems to be too large for the amount of fruit, and it is impossible to simply slice a mango in half without knocking up against that clunky centerpiece. Also, a lot of the pulp clings to the seed and thus is not accessible to your project. So we just have to resign ourselves to cutting mangos about one third of the way in, salvaging as much of the flesh as we can to use in our recipe, and relegating that large, messy-but-delicious central unit to snack status. It might be nature's way of telling us to slow down and take a healthy break.

It's okay to buy mangoes while they are still green. They will ripen in your kitchen, but keep them out of direct sunlight. To hurry the ripening process along, store the mangoes in a paper bag.