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Mango season is almost over

August 7, 2026 | View in browser

LOS ANGELES - JULY 24, 2026: Farmers market mangoes and how to prepare them. (Cody Reiss / Los Angeles Times)

By Cody Reiss

Cooking Editor

Dear reader,

Mangoes were the first fruit I fell in love with. I still remember my first time. I was 17 years old. My best friend Ben and I were deliriously stoned and — for some reason — were craving smoothies. We wandered down the street to the grocery store (where I also worked as a checkout bagger), and stumbled around grabbing every appealing fresh, dried and frozen fruit we could afford.

Back home, we slowly started cutting into the fruit. I picked up a mysterious specimen, all yellow and red and green, large like an ostrich egg. I showed it to my friend.

“What’s this?”

“You’ve never had a mango?” he asked, in hazy disbelief.

He cut it up for me — slicing the plump cheeks from the seed, etching a crosshatched pattern into its flesh with a knife and handed it to me. I took my first bite. Hitchcock zoom. Lush, tropical, sour, sweet and sunshiney, it was perhaps the best thing I’d tasted in my life.

The next day I started a Facebook group (dating myself … ) called “What the heck … mangoes are so dank?!?!,” and invited all eight of my friends to join. The group quickly showed so much shared enthusiasm for the fruit that I decided to start a Mango Club at my high school.

I was the president, and Ben, who had introduced me to mangoes, was the vice president. I also happened to be my high school’s treasurer , so I was able to expand the budget for clubs and funnel some of the school’s money into the Mango Club’s coffers. Once a week at lunch, a dozen or so of us would gather in a classroom and enjoy fresh mangoes, along with other mango-flavored treats: candy, tea, chile-lime dried mango, etc.

My love of mangoes has never wavered, following me into my adulthood. Several years ago, after reading this bombshell piece about the underground Pakistani mango trade by Ahmed Ali Akbar (who recently won a James Beard Award), I sought out a box of my own illicit mangoes, including a variety called Chaunsa, one of the most prized among connoisseurs.

I managed to find a dealer in New York, whom I contacted on WhatsApp and met in a Starbucks parking lot in Flatbush. He arrived in a slick black car with dark tinted windows. I paid him, and he handed me a small cardboard package.

The package filled my entire van with a perfume so strong I had to roll the windows down. When I got home, I opened the package and found six medium mangoes, wrapped individually in a protective foam cradle.

I carefully cut one open the same way Ben had taught me to, and took a bite.

My word! It tasted like someone had injected the thing with a cocktail of sunshine and honey. Just incredible.

A few years later, when I was cooking at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, I ordered another box of Pakistani mangoes from a different provider. My friend from high school was in town, and we decided it was about time we had a Mango Club reunion. The box of a dozen mangoes was also quite expensive (about $7 per mango), and without our high school club budget to subsidize, we figured it would be more financially responsible to split it between a big group of people.

On a warm August morning, we drove out to the cargo terminal of the Oakland airport, and there we received our package. Later that day, we gathered at my house with a new group of eight or so friends and feasted. In keeping with our old traditions, we also enjoyed other mango-flavored treats: some mango wine I’d made in the back of my van, freeze-dried mango, mango ice cream. Those mangoes, too, were fantastic.

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Yet, now living in Los Angeles, I (and we) are blessed to have access to world-class mangoes, like those from Wong Farms. You might have seen people raving about their incredible Golden Lady ($7.50 per pound) or Valencia Pride ($8 per pound) varieties on social media, or seen the ever-growing line to buy them at your local farmers market.

The hype is real. These mangoes are some of the best I’ve ever had, and — take it from the president of the Mango Club — they’re worth the wait. Sadly, I can’t get myself to wait in the very long Wong Farms line at the Hollywood market, so I’ve been getting mine at their stand at the Wednesday morning Santa Monica market, where the line has tended to be shorter.

Wherever you go, just get one (or 10). It doesn’t have to be from that particular farm — if you see in-season, local mangoes, don’t hesitate to grab a few. It’s the end of the season, and after a couple more weeks, you’ll have missed your chance.

Oh, and as far as how I cut them: Currently a wearer of a protruding mustache, I’ve ditched the crosshatch-and-smash technique and aimed for a method that is a bit less messy. Now I usually cut the cheeks from the seed and scoop the flesh out bite-by-bite with a spoon, or use a thin-rimmed glass to de-skin the cheek, and then cut that up however I please.

While I’m too emotionally fragile these days to get deliriously stoned, if I had more mangoes than I could eat out of hand, I would gladly cut them up and freeze them for future sober smoothies. If you have more mangoes than you know what to do with, here are a couple of recipes from the archive to get your imagination’s juices flowing:

Instant Pot Hatch Chile Pork Tacos With Kohlrabi Mango Slaw

Make a slaw with mango, cilantro, kohlrabi and lime while the braised pork cooks (in an Instant Pot) for these easy tacos from former Times cooking editor Genevieve Ko. Fresh or roasted Hatch chiles balance the richness of the pork, and dried ones give the sauce an earthy depth. The mango slaw is what gives it a tropical.
Cook time: 45 minutes. Serves 8.
Get the recipe.

Mango-Ginger Ice Cream

A handful of fresh peeled and chopped ginger infuses the milk and cream for this summer ice cream from former L.A. Times Food editor Russ Parsons. The ginger brings out the spicy-fresh aspect of a ripe mango. He says, “In an ice cream context, it is a revelation.
Time: 20 minutes. Serves 8.
Get the recipe.

Happy mango season to all who celebrate! Consider yourself an honorary member of the Mango Club.

Yours,
Cody

P.S. Last week’s Cooking newsletter was missing a link to the recipe for Carolynn Carreño’s No-Fail Chocolate Frosting. Here it is.

Eating out this week? Sign up for Tasting Notes to get our restaurant experts’ insights and off-the-cuff takes on where they’re dining right now.

Dodgers Dugout: Trade deadline review, plus don’t worry about the Dodgers losing

August 7, 2026 | View in browser

Tarik Skubal during his first start for the Dodgers.

By Houston Mitchell

Assistant Sports Editor

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. It’s too hot. I’m convinced that the Earth has been torn from its orbit and is hurtling toward the sun.

Trade deadline review

The Dodgers made some acquisitions at the deadline, the big one being Tarik Skubal. Let’s take a look:

Acquired Skubal from the Tigers for minor leaguers Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith

Andrew Friedman recently told reporters, “There just aren’t that many star-level players in the game. Any time one is available, we’re always going to participate in those conversations.”

Participate he did, as the Dodgers got the top player available. Skubal won the last two AL Cy Young Awards when he went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA in 2024 and 13-6 with a 2.21 ERA last season, leading the league in ERA both seasons. He also led in strikeouts in 2024 with 228. Last season he struck out 241. You can see all of his stats here.

Skubal was taken by Detroit out of Seattle University in the ninth round of the 2018 draft. He reached the majors in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, going 1-4 with a 5.63 ERA in eight starts. He has gotten better each season since until this season, where he is 7-6 with an ERA of “only” 2.81.

Skubal was born in Hayward, Calif., on Nov. 20, 1996. He was a freshman All-American for Seattle in 2015, then missed most of the 2016 and all of the 2017 season after having Tommy John surgery. He pitched again in 2018 and was drafted by Detroit.

After winning his second Cy Young last season, he set the arbitration record by getting $32 million for 2026 (the Tigers had countered with $19 million). On May 4 this season, he had surgery to remove loose bodies in his pitching elbow (the same surgery Edwin Díaz had). He came back on June 13 and since then he has gone 4-4 with a 2.88 ERA in 59.1 innings, giving up 43 hits and walking 10 while striking out 77. The Dodgers will be on the hook for about $10 million of his salary this season.

Was this a good trade? Well, for now, yes, as the Dodgers are a better team with Skubal than without him. Long term, it depends on a lot of things. Will he be a key factor if they win the title again? He’s a free agent after this season, will the Dodgers re-sign him? Will the three prospects the Dodgers gave up turn out to be good to great major leaguers?

In 1987, Detroit was battling for the AL East and pulled off a deadline deal, acquiring Doyle Alexander from the Atlanta Braves. Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA for the Tigers, who won the division thanks in large part to that. So, a great trade, right?

Well, Alexander retired two years later, and the prospect the Tigers sent to the Braves turned out to be pretty good: John Smoltz.

Hope, 21, is an outfielder who has hit at every level of the minor leagues. He is hitting .291/.368/.525 at double-A this season. He is considered by all sources to be one of the top 100 prospects in baseball, ranked 63rd by Baseball America, 27th by MLB and 18th by Baseball Prospectus.

Ryan, who turns 28 this month, pitched for the Dodgers in 2024, with a 1.33 ERA in four starts. He has been hampered by injuries ever since. He had arm surgery in August 2024 that sidelined him for the 2025 season. He made eight starts for triple-A Oklahoma City this season, with a 4.46 ERA. He has great stuff, but his age and injury history indicates he might never get a real chance to show it.

Smith, 21, was drafted in the third round in 2023. He missed the 2024 season because of injuries. He made only nine starts with a 6.00 ERA last season and in 21 starts in Class A ball this season, he was 0-7 with a 4.36 ERA, striking out 113 in 74.1 innings.

Acquired Ben Rortvedt from the New York Mets for Chayce McDermott

Rortvedt is a familiar name to Dodgers fans, as he filled in admirably when needed for Will Smith last season and took the backup catcher job from Dalton Rushing. He hit only .224/.309/.327, but he seemed to always get key hits, or laid down a bunt when needed. And the pitching staff loved him. It was as if he had been a Dodgers catcher for years. Look at the team ERA by catcher last season:

Rortvedt, 2.89 (140.1 innings)
Rushing, 3.87 (325.1)
Smith, 4.00 (865.1)
Chuckie Robinson, 5.14 (seven)
Austin Barnes, 5.16 (103)

Doesn’t it seem like Barnes has been off the team for a few seasons already?

McDermott has a career 12.00 ERA in 15 major league innings.

Acquired Hunter Feduccia and Jacob Kmatz from the Tampa Bay Rays for Jack Suwinski and $250,000 in international bonus pool money

The Dodgers acquired another old friend by getting Feduccia, who is also a catcher. He played in eight games for the Dodgers in 2024 and 2025 before he was traded to Tampa Bay for Rortvedt and pitcher Paul Gervase. Feduccia is one of those Dodger prospects who never panned out, as he is hitting .207/.297/.290 in 104 major league games. But, he knows the Dodger pitching staff and the Dodgers are better with Rortvedt/Feduccia than with Robinson/Eliezer Alfonzo.

The reason the Dodgers acquired two catchers is because of some bad news. Rushing has a torn UCL in his right elbow and more than likely won’t be able to play catcher again this season, though he may be able to serve as a right-handed pinch-hitter. With Rushing out, and Will Smith still sidelined by his neck injury, the Dodgers turned toward defense. Neither Rortvedt nor Feduccia have proven to be starting catchers, but they have been solid backups. The question is, who will get the most playing time the rest of the way? They both bat left-handed.

Acquired pitcher Kris Bubic from the Kansas City Royals for Carlos Duran

This reminds me of the trade for Danny Duffy at the 2021 deadline. Duffy was a good pitcher who was injured, but the Dodgers hoped he would return in time to help down the stretch during the 2021 season. He didn’t return. They signed him in the offseason hoping he would return from injury to help during the season. He didn’t return. He then retired.

Bubic was on the 60-day IL for the Royals, and is on that IL for the Dodgers. He was an All-Star last season for the Royals, finishing the season 8-7 with a 2.55 ERA in 20 starts (116 innings). He was 3-2 with a 4.11 ERA in nine starts this season before going on the IL because of shoulder soreness. The Dodgers hope he can return before the end of the month.

But let’s not hold our breath awaiting that, OK?

Duran, 25, had a 3.38 ERA in 42.2 innings at triple-A Oklahoma City.

Acquired reliever Seth Halvorsen from the Colorado Rockies for Nick Frasso and Landyn Vidourek

This trade happened on July 20, but we will include it. Halvorsen was, wait for it, on the 15-day IL for the Rockies because of shoulder inflammation. He is currently off the IL and has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings at Oklahoma City. He reaches 100 on the radar gun and has a 4.31 career ERA in 71 innings in the majors.

Frasso, 27, was selected in the fourth round by Toronto in the 2020 draft, was sent to the Dodgers for Mitch White in 2022 and never reached the majors with L.A. He had shoulder surgery before the 2024 season and sat out the season.

Vidourek, 22, an outfielder, was chosen by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2025 draft. He has power but strikes out a lot, fanning 141 times in 317 at-bats in the minors, where he is hitting .205/.357/.369.

So, there you have it. Your new Dodgers. The Dodgers are a better team today than they were before the deadline. It guarantees nothing though. They got Yu Darvish and Max Scherzer in previous years and did not win the title.

The Dodgers rotation, if everyone is healthy:

Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Skubal
Shohei Ohtani
Blake Snell
Tyler Glasnow

Next in line: Justin Wrobleski, Roki Sasaki, Eric Lauer, Emmet Sheehan.

Here’s what the other NL contenders did. I won’t comment, because this newsletter is long enough already and there’s still another item after this one, but if you click on each player’s name, you will be taken to their stat page at baseball-reference.com.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Acquired Lars Nootbaar from the St. Louis Cardinals for Daniel Eagen, Sandro Santana and a player to be named later.

Atlanta Braves

Acquired Tyler Uberstine from the Boston Red Sox for Eli White.
Acquired Duncan Davitt from the Chicago White Sox for Joey Bart.
Acquired Brent Suter from the Angels for Nacho Alvarez Jr.
Acquired Tyler Mahle from the San Francisco Giants for Anthony Molina.
Acquired Lane Thomas and Bailey Falter from the Kansas City Royals for Carter Holton and Lucas Braun.

Chicago Cubs

Acquired Kevin Gausman from the the Toronto Blue Jays for Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene.
Acquired Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor from the New York Mets for Jefferson Rojas.
Acquired Ryan Zeferjahn from the Angels for Moises Ballesteros and Mason McGwire.
Acquired Braxton Garrett from the Miami Marlins for Jonathon Long and Jace Beck.
Acquired Aaron Civale and cash from the Athletics for Aiden Moffett.
Acquired David Peterson from the New York Mets for Cole Mathis.

Miami Marlins

Acquired Brandan Bidois, Hyun Seung Lee, and Brian Sanchez from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Lake Bachar.
Acquired Victor Vodnik from the Colorado Rockies for Connor Norby and Aiden May.
Acquired Jonathon Long and Jace Beck from the Chicago Cubs for Braxton Garrett.
Acquired Brayden Taylor, Adrian Santana and Jacob Kisting from the Tampa Bay Rays for Liam Hicks.

Milwaukee Brewers

Acquired Antonio Senzatela from the Colorado Rockies for Mark Manfredi and Juan Martinez.
Acquired Dustin May and JoJo Romero from the St. Louis Cardinals for Alexander Frias and Josiah Ragsdale.
Acquired Bo Naylor and Codi Heuer from the Cleveland Guardians for Blake Perkins and Craig Yoho.
Acquired Braden Shewmake from the Houston Astros for cash considerations.

Philadelphia Phillies

Acquired Luis Arraez and Caleb Kilian from the San Francisco Giants for Ramon Marquez and Marty Gair.
Acquired Colby Thomas from the Athletics for Seth Johnson.
Acquired Manuel Colon and cash considerations from the Kansas City Royals for Nolan Hoffman.
Acquired Brooks Raley from the New York Mets for Luke Gabrysh and John Spikerman.

San Diego Padres

Acquired Robbie Ray from Giants for Miguel Mendez and Joniel Hernandez.
Acquired Hunter Stratton from Pirates for Andrew Moore.
Acquired Casey Mize and Gage Workman from Tigers for Kash Mayfield and Jackson Wolf.

For full reports on all the trades across the majors, I suggest visiting mlbtraderumors.com.

What, me worry?

So, the Dodgers have lost six in a row and were swept in two consecutive series. Time to worry or panic?

To find the last time the Dodgers lost six in a row and were swept in consecutive series, you have to go all the way back to ... July 2025. The Dodgers woke up on July 4 leading the NL West by nine games. They then proceeded to get swept twice:

lost to Houston, 18-1
lost to Houston, 6-4
lost to Houston, 5-1
lost to Milwaukee, 9-1
lost to Milwaukee, 3-1
lost to Milwaukee, 3-2

The then lost their first game against the Giants, 8-7. After that, they were in first place by only four games.

Then they won two in a row and lost three more in a row. They went 5-13 over one stretch that month and went 10-14 in July. They lost five in a row to start September. They ended up winning the division by three games, but did not get a first-round bye.

My memory fails me, what happened in the postseason last season?

If the Dodgers get a couple of major injuries and lose like 15 in a row, then we can begin to panic. But they are going to make the postseason, and anything can happen in the postseason. They could be swept in the first round, they could win it all again. It’s all part of the ride.

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (Roki Sasaki, 5-5, 4.64 ERA) at Arizona (Merrill Kelly, 8-9, 5.04 ERA), 6:40 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 11-7, 2.76 ERA) at Arizona (Brandon Pfaadt, 6-1, 3.66 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Dodgers (*Justin Wrobleski, 11-3, 3.31 ERA) at Arizona (*Eduardo Rodriguez, 10-4, 2.71 ERA), 1:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

Keep up with California

Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times.

Subscribe Now

In case you missed it

Shohei Ohtani, Pete Crow-Armstrong put on a show as NL MVP talk heats up: ‘He’s a great player’

‘Dodgers do all the right things.’ Tarik Skubal dismisses the ‘ruining baseball’ critics

Two of Rob Reiner’s children pay tribute to their late parents with Dodgers ceremonial first pitches

Dodgers add catchers Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia, pitcher Kris Bubic at trade deadline

Dodgers Debate: The Dodgers will stop at nothing to win

Inside the aggressive push Andrew Friedman and Dodgers made to acquire Tarik Skubal

Shaikin: ‘L.A. is America’s team.’ But the Brewers should have been Tarik Skubal’s team

Plaschke: Tarik Skubal trade brings Dodgers hate, envy ... and another championship

And finally

Vin Scully is interviewed by Roy Firestone. Watch and listen here.

Until next time ...

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

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Mango season is almost over

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