Thai R2E2, Sweet & Flavorful

A strange name, certainly, but a really delicious fruit – large and round with firm, non-fibrous yellow flesh, and a sweetly mild flavor. This fruit is big and plump. It has an oval shape with a thick skin. The young fruit has yellow skin when ripe. The flesh is yellow with a little fibrous. It tastes sweet. The seed is long and flat. An excellent source of vitamin C and beta-carotene.

Origin
R2E2 is a mid-season variety with large, highly colored fruit. It was selected in 1982 by Ian Bally, Ross Wright, and Peter Beal as a seedling progeny of the Florida variety Kent, and takes its name from the row and position in the field of the original tree at the department´s Bowen Research Facility.

Released for commercial production in 1991, R2E2 has gained wide acceptance throughout all mango-growing regions in Australia and is the third most popular variety grown. R2E2 has a long shelf life and is sought after on the export market.

Fun Facts:
The Thai mango is known as "Ma Muang" in Thai, although this varies by region. For example, in the Northern region a mango is also known as "Pae," and in the South as "Pao." The mango is rich in symbolic meaning. As part of the feng shui tradition, for generations, many Thais have believed that growing a mango tree on the south side of the house will bring prosperity to the family. More broadly, mangoes are so widely enjoyed in Thailand and surrounding countries that they truly do represent a precious part of the culture. There are perhaps more than one hundred types of Thai mangoes, many of them hybrids developed in Thailand. The mango tree only bears fruit once per year, and its season is between late March and early June. This is the time one will find delicately delicious mangoes - a fairly small window of time for top quality. Nevertheless, this small window of time represents much of the enjoyment of mangoes by so many in Thailand, making it in effect a staple for meals and especially desserts.

Health Benefits:
• Mango fruit is rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds.
• Mango fruit is an excellent source of Vitamin A and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin.
• These compounds are known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. It is also a good source of potassium, vitamin B6, C and E.
• Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine is required for GABA hormone production within the brain. It also controls homocysteine levels within the blood, which may otherwise be harmful to blood vessels resulting in CAD and stroke.
• It also has a moderate amount of copper which is a co-factor for many vital enzymes such as manganese and zinc which are required for the production of red blood cells.

Reference:
http://www.streetdirectory.com/food_editorials/cuisines/asian_food/the_thai_mango_a_luscious_and_precious_staple.html
http://mangolicious-mango.blogspot.my/p/about-mangoes_25.html