One day while wasting the afternoon flipping through the television channels (what did we do before the remote control?), I stopped when I came across a not-very-well-choreographed procession of statuesque, exotically beautiful women parading across a stage. After a few minutes of riveted attention, I realized that I’d happened upon the Miss Martinique pageant. Once the glamorous gals had strutted their stuff wearing barely-there bikinis, teetering around precariously on steep high heels (it seemed the smaller the swimsuit, the higher the heels), the contest concluded with the host posing the all important question about why the pageant was so vital for promoting world peace and understanding. One of the contestants flashed her big, bright smile, looked right into the camera, and responded, “Because beauty is the key to communication.” With a thought-provoking answer like that, awarding the crown to anyone else would have been a crime. And sure enough, she won. But maybe she got mixed up and was talking about mangoes, the other beauties of the tropics. Their vibrant red exterior and succulent orange pulp do indeed communicate beauty and good taste that are not just skin deep.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 1 quart (1 liter)

　　2 large, ripe mangoes (2 pounds, 1 kg)

　　2/3 cup (130 g) sugar

　　2/3 cup (160 ml) water

　　4 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice, plus more to taste

　　1 tablespoon dark rum, plus more to taste

　　Pinch of salt

　　

Step 1

Peel the mangoes and cut the flesh away from the pit. Cut the flesh into chunks and put them in a blender with the sugar, water, lime juice, rum, and salt. Squeeze the mango pits hard over the blender to extract as much of the pulp and juice as possible. Purée the mixture until smooth. Taste, then add more lime juice or rum if desired. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

　　

Perfect Pairing

Step 2

Mango Sorbet is terrific served along with a cool scoop of Toasted Coconut Ice Cream (page 96) or marbled and swirled together with Raspberry Sherbet (page 132).

　　The Perfect Scoop