Mango Puree

Today I spent the day making mango meringue tartlets for my host family! They were extremely excited to have "American sweets." I'm not too sure about how "American" mango tarts really are; I've never had them except when I've made them, but I didn't mention that. I was a little worried about finding all of the ingredients in a Japanese supermarket, but with the exception of limes, didn't have too much trouble. What I didn't think about was the part where the mangoes have to be pureed. In America, we have blenders, and food processors, and mix masters, and juicers, and any number of ways to puree a mango. Not in Japan though - at least not in my host family's kitchen. When the forks didn't work so well, my host mom pulled out the old fashioned suribachi and surikogi - the Japanese mortar and pestle. What can I say? When I offered to cook for my host family I never imagined I would be pounding mangoes with a stick. My advice: never try to puree a mango without a food processor. It doesn't work. My host family absolutely loved the tarts though. My host mom even had me help her translate the recipe into Japanese so that she can make it again for her friends someday.