Green mango or ‘Mango Biche’ as they call it in Colombia is a common found street snack here in Bogota. The concept is quite simple: Thinly sliced (sometimes like mango noodles other times like thicker mango sticks) unripe mango topped with lime and salt. Just writing that one sentence down made my mouth water. Thinking of the tart crunchiness of thinly sliced mango on the tongue is torturous. The taste is so different from ripe mango it fulfills an entirely different craving.
Finding this snack in Bogotá is my constant reminder that I am in the tropical Andean mountains. It’s so exotic, it reminds me of a typical snack waiting to be devoured in the heat of a breezy tropical beach with salty hair and freckled skin.
When I lived in Europe, my Colombian boyfriend used to tell me how delicious it was to eat unripe mango topped with lime and salt. I was confused as plain sweet mango was so absurdly delicious and so I didn’t understand how you would want to ruin the experience by eating it green and topped with sour and salty flavors in the mix. I thought this was a crime! These Colombians know nothing about taste!
Upon coming here, I quickly realized how wrong I was. I was the one that had been missing out all along. This twist on eating mango took flavors to another level. It quenches a whole different set of desires and stays on your mind and tongue long after it has been devoured. I can’t get enough of it.
Now, every time I go out to explore Bogota, I make sure to leave the house on an empty stomach, because I know there will always be delicious surprises waiting for me at the next street corner. So obviously and as usual, I fall on one of the many portable stands of sellers offering the popular ‘mango biche’. Don’t mind if I do?! For only $2,000 pesos (Less than $1) I receive a cup so big I have a hard time finishing. Unlike a true local, I skip the salt and stick to lime juice only. It’s so good my mouth is still tingling…
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This type of way of eating a mango actually came from Mexico, you can find all these street fruit vendors all over the country, our parents, grandparents, great grandparents ect, ate it. Colombians just took this idea from the Mexican gastronomy. You can also find these in Central America but because they were influenced by Mexico in such a way.
Thanks Carlos for your insight ;)
Good article. I definitely appreciate this site. Continue the good work!