Cocktails with Mango purée
Mango purée is a thick, smooth fruit purée of ripe mango flesh.
How it's used
It brings tropical flavor, sweetness and body in one measure, and the body is the part a juice cannot give: it thickens a sour and helps the foam stand. Taste it before you build, since commercial purées run from unsweetened to nearly syrup and the two are not interchangeable by volume. Rum and tequila suit it, lime is required rather than optional, and chili is the pairing that makes it interesting.
Substitutes for Mango purée
Make your own: blend ripe mango flesh until smooth and strain it if stringy; a large mango gives about 300 ml. Mango nectar works in a pinch, but it is thinner and less fruity, so the drink comes out thinner.
Mango nectar
Purée let down with water and usually sweetened, about 12 g of sugar per 100 g: it pours like juice.
Sweetened mango purée
Some bar purées carry added sugar, so cut any syrup the recipe has; unsweetened ones, such as Boiron's frozen mango, go one for one.
Storage
Fresh purée keeps a few days refrigerated and freezes well in portions. Commercial keeps to its date and wants the fridge once open. It darkens at the surface as it oxidizes, which is cosmetic until it also smells fermented.
