Mango Glossary

33 mango terms — variety names, production methods, ripening science, trade terminology, and cuisine references.

A

Aam/ Aam (आम / آم): Hindi/Urdu word for 'mango.' Used as the root of many compound food terms — aamras (mango pulp), aam ka achaar (mango pickle), aam panna (raw mango drink).
Aamras: Pulped sweet mango concentrate, served as a side dish or dessert. Most traditionally made with Alphonso or Kesar in Indian cuisine; Pakistani cuisine uses Chaunsa or Sindhri.
Aam ka Achaar/ Aam ka Achar / Mango Pickle: Spiced oil-cured raw mango pickle. Made with green Langra or Totapuri mangoes, salt, mustard oil, and spices. Cures for 21-30 days.Learn more →
Aam Panna: Raw mango drink — green mango boiled, deseeded, blended with sugar/jaggery, salt, mint, and roasted cumin. Cooling summer drink in Indian and Pakistani households.Learn more →
Alphonso/ Hapus: India's flagship mango from Maharashtra (Ratnagiri/Devgad). Brix 18-20, saffron-orange flesh, complex aroma. Globally recognized and exported widely.Learn more →
Anwar Ratol/ Anwer Ratol: Small (150-250g) intensely sweet Pakistani mango from Punjab. Brix 20-22, zero fiber. Connoisseur favorite, season late June through August.Learn more →
APHIS/ USDA APHIS: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Approved Pakistani mango imports to USA in 2022 with mandatory 400 Gy irradiation on US arrival.

Brix/ °Bx: Standard measurement of dissolved sugar in fruit. 1 Brix degree ≈ 1 gram sugar per 100 grams. Sindhri is the world's sweetest commercial mango at Brix 22-24.

Calcium Carbide/ Carbide: Industrial chemical illegally used to artificially ripen mangoes. Releases acetylene gas with arsenic and phosphorus impurities. Banned for food use in Pakistan, India, USA, and EU.
Carbide-Free: Mangoes ripened naturally without calcium carbide — using room-temperature ripening, paper-wrapping, rice-husk rooms, or pharmaceutical ethylene at 100ppm. MMA Farms is 100% carbide-free.Learn more →
Chaunsa/ Chausa: Pakistan's flagship mango — 'the king of mangoes.' Brix 20-22, butter-smooth flesh, honey-custard aroma. Sub-types: White Chaunsa Mosami (early), Black Chaunsa (mid), Nawab Puri (late).Learn more →
Chausa: Town in Uttar Pradesh, India, where Chaunsa mango variety was first cultivated. Mughal Emperor Sher Shah Suri named it after the town in the 16th century to celebrate his victory over Humayun.

Dispatch Date: The date a mango variety begins shipping from the orchard for the season. At MMA Farms — Langra June 15, Sindhri June 20, Anwar Ratol June 22, White Chaunsa July 10, Nawab Puri August 10.
Dussehri/ Dasheri: Long, slim, mid-sweet Indian mango from Lucknow's Malihabad. Brix 17-19, fiber-free. Descended from a 200-year-old mother tree.Learn more →

Ethylene: Plant hormone gas that triggers fruit ripening. Pharmaceutical-grade ethylene at 100 ppm is the legal commercial ripening method (vs illegal calcium carbide).

Glycemic Index (GI): Score (0-100) of how quickly a food raises blood glucose. Mango varieties: Langra ~51, Anwar Ratol ~52, Sindhri ~56, Chaunsa ~55. All fall in the moderate-GI range.

Irradiation: USDA-required 400 Gy gamma/electron-beam treatment for Pakistani mangoes entering the USA. Kills fruit fly larvae without damaging the fruit. Performed at US irradiation centers (JFK, ORD, MIA, DFW), not in Pakistan.

Kesar: Saffron-colored Indian mango from Gujarat (Junagadh). Brix 18-20, signature orange flesh, fragrant. Traditional in shrikhand, lassi, and Gujarati desserts.Learn more →

Langra/ Langda: Tangy-sweet Pakistani mango that stays green even when ripe. Brix 18-20, citrus undertones. Perfect for pickle (achaar) and chutney. Origin: Varanasi region, named after a 'langra' (lame) saint cultivator.Learn more →

Mandi: Wholesale fruit market where farmers and traders auction harvested produce. Pakistan's mandi system has middlemen between farmers and consumers — premium D2C brands like MMA Farms bypass mandi to ship farm-direct.Learn more →
Mangifera indica: Scientific name for the common mango. Originated in the Indo-Burma region 4,000+ years ago. Now cultivated across the global tropics with 500+ named varieties.
Miyazaki/ Taiyo no Tamago / Egg of Sun: Japan's luxury ruby-red mango, sold individually for $50-400. Brix 15+. Famous more for price and presentation than peak sweetness — Pakistani Sindhri is sweeter at one-tenth the cost.Learn more →
Mosami: Sub-variety designation for early-season White Chaunsa. 'Mosami' (موسمی) is Urdu for 'in season.' First Chaunsa to ship each July. Brix 18-20, signature floral aroma.Learn more →
Multan: City in Punjab, Pakistan known as the 'City of Mangoes' (Aamon ka Shehr). 4,000+ years of continuous mango cultivation. MMA Farms is based here. Climate: 45-50°C summers concentrate sugars to record Brix.

Nawab Puri: Late-season White Chaunsa sub-variety, named after Pakistan's Nawab Puri region. Ships August 10 onward. Brix 22-24, longest shelf life of any Pakistani mango (14-21 days at 12°C). Pakistan's flagship export grade.Learn more →

PFA/ Punjab Food Authority: Pakistan's Punjab Food Authority — regulator that raids fruit markets for calcium carbide use. Premium farms like MMA Farms publish PFA-compliant ripening processes.
Phytosanitary Certificate: Government-issued document certifying produce is pest- and disease-free for international export. Pakistan's DPP (Department of Plant Protection) issues these for mango exports to UK, EU, UAE.

Ratol/ Ratool: Small Pakistani mango variety family from Punjab. Includes Anwar Ratol (most common), 12 Number Ratol (premium sub-type), and Saroli Ratol. All score 1/10 fiber and Brix 19-22.
Ripening Room: Climate-controlled chamber where harvested mangoes ripen in 3-5 days at 25-30°C. Premium farms use ethylene-injected rooms (legal, controlled) instead of calcium carbide (illegal, uncontrolled).

Sclereids/ Stone cells: The 'fiber' or 'strings' in mangoes. Hard cell walls developed near the pit. Low-fiber varieties (Sindhri, Anwar Ratol, White Chaunsa Mosami) have minimal sclereid formation.
Shrikhand: Strained-yogurt dessert flavored with saffron and cardamom; the mango variant uses Kesar pulp. Traditional in Maharashtrian and Gujarati cuisine.
Sindhri/ Sindri / Queen of Mangoes: Pakistan's largest export mango from Sindh province. Brix 22-24 (peak 26) — the world's sweetest commercial mango. Fiber-free, golden flesh, 300-500g fruits.Learn more →

Totapuri/ Bangalora: Parrot-beak shaped Indian mango. Less sweet (Brix 14-16) but high acidity makes it ideal for pulps, chutneys, and aamras concentrate. Volume export crop, not premium.Learn more →