I'll never forget my first scoop of mangga ice cream. It came in a clear plastic tub that would later become a family heirloom form of Tupperware. "Philippine mango," my mom bragged, "the best in the world." Barely any tartness, the flavor had an almost toffee-like aftertaste that I couldn't quite put my finger on, chasing it with every spoonful. It ruined all other mango ice creams for me. It made me a snob. Companions at ice cream dates would swoon over mango sorbet at a generic gelateria and offer me a taste of their cone, but I declined, knowing better. After opening my own ice cream shop, I discovered that my late grandfather Lolo was the flavor chemist who developed that famous mango ice cream from my childhood. The secret to this ice cream? I still don't know. But I can guess. For starters, it's the king of mangoes-the oblong yellow Philippine mango. And the toffee-like notes? Allowing the mangoes to ripen to a point of partial dehydration. When the fruit has wrinkled, it's given up some of its moisture; the sugars condense and concentrate into a caramelized flavor. Any tartness the fruit had ripens into an ethylene-a funky tropical flavor that can only come from a Southeast Asian mango.