A History of Agriculture in India v2.c61.s1.2

v2.c61.s1.2

‘One of them is the ’anbah (mango; from Hindi *amb*). It is a tree which resembles orange trees but is larger in size and more leafy. The shade which it gives is the densest of any, but it is oppressive and if one sleeps beneath it he becomes enervated. Its fruit is of the size of a large pear. When the fruit is green and not yet fully ripe the people gather those of them that fall, put salt on them and pickle them as limes and lemons are pickled in our country. The Indians pickle also green ginger and clusters of pepper, which they eat with meat dishes, taking after each mouthful a little of these pickled fruits. When the mango ripens in the season of autumn rains its fruit becomes yellow and then they eat it like apples, some people cutting it with a knife while others simply suck it. The fruit is sweet, with a little acidity mingled with its sweetness, and has a large stone which they plant, like orange pips and other fruit stones, and the trees sprout from them.