An Indonesian Company Invented a Mango Avocado

The avocado will inevitably go down as one of the defining foods of 2017. But just because we’ve turned the calendar over to a new year doesn’t mean that the fatty stone fruit’s complete domination of our culinary consciousness will slow down anytime soon.

To that end, one Indonesian fruit company Fresh Mangoes has found itself at the center of social media attention thanks to its claim to have cultivated some sort of bizarre “Mango Avocado”. As you can see from one of the company’s Instagram posts, this particular fruit can be eaten much differently than other mangoes.

But before you hop on a jet to Jakarta to get a hold of the ultimate in trendy toast toppings, it’s important to note that this isn’t a true hybridization of the two fruits. Instead, its name originates from this particular mango variety’s avocado-like attributes. This special take on the arum manis mango (whose name translates to “fragrant and sweet”) bears certain structural similarities to the avocado’s look and feel if picked at the right time and using the right technique.

When that happens, Fresh Mangoes owner Heru Andriyono claims that finer fruit fibers mean the inside of the “mango-avocado” can be peeled and eaten just as one would with a normal avocado. It’s also said to exhibit a softer texture than either of the two fruits whose names it bears.

While you’d think that Fresh Mangoes could make a mint exporting something that combines the sweet and somewhat exotic qualities of a mango with the creamy goodness of an avocado, that might be much easier said than done. Based on what Andriyono has to say, it sounds like the window required to make the mango-avocado work might be pretty small: “If it isn’t ripe, it cannot be peeled like an avocado,” he told Indonesia news outlet Kompas. Even if things don’t work out, the supposedly extra-sweet taste of this arum manis variety sure sounds like a decent consolation prize.