A rich fruit spread topped with honey

Their pick:Fruit-lovers can pick from a wide range of mangoes at the National Honey and Mango Festival which got off to a start at the Sooryakanthi grounds in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday

Additional Director-General of Police R. Sreelekha examined the fruit she had just been given with apparently mild trepidation. “You must eat it like that,” said Balachandran Nair, chairman, Sanghamythri Farmers Producer Company Ltd., indicating that the fruit should be devoured without it being sliced or peeled.

The fact that anyone can bite into the fruit and feel no irritation or burning sensation was testimony to how clean and chemical-free the mangoes grown by the farmers under Sanghamythri were, Mr. Nair said.

“I have never eaten a mango like that before, but it tasted fine,” Ms. Sreelekha said.

She was among the visitors to the National Honey and Mango Festival which got to a start at the Sooryakanthi grounds here on Monday. The Sanghamythri stall alone displayed 12 varieties of mango grown by farmers in and around the district and stored in a ripening chamber at their head office at Pallichal. The process entailed the use of no artificial preservatives or chemicals to hasten ripening, Mr. Nair said.

“It is because people are now more aware and careful, they purchase less from retail stores or wholesale markets bringing down the price of the fruit compared to last year,” said Muraleedharan, a farmer. A kg of Kottukonam Varikka , for instance, cost over Rs.140 last year, but, this year it has not risen over Rs.100. Customers were also drawn to a small, more rotund variety of mango – partly because of its rather endearing name, Chakkarakutty .

“We source it directly from an orchard in Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu,” said Muraleedharan, adding that there was once a time when this type was in abundance in Kerala. “Now, you have rubber plantations taking over the existing orchards and there are a few lucky households where trees still stand,” he said.

Food safety officials were monitoring the fruits brought to the fair this year. Use of chemicals would entail strict legal action against the group concerned, sources said.

The sales section aside, the Horticulture Mission also had a tent meant for display and decorative purposes alone. Over 135 kinds of mangoes were laid out here, labelled in English and Malayalam, followed by a brief description of its texture and flavour. Several stalls were yet to be occupied, especially at the section displaying honey products, but officials said that many were due in from other parts of the State by Tuesday. The fair will continue till May 11.