Cooking Related - Mangoes

[Deleted]

I have never eaten a mango before. I honestly am not even sure what a mango looks like without looking one up. H loves mango flavored stuff and had some salmon a few weeks ago with some sort of mango stuff on top, so for his birthday I am making him salmon with this pineapple/mango salsa on top that I found on foodnetwork.com. How do I tell if a mango is ripe?

[y4m]

It should give a bit when you squeeze it but still have a firm (not wrinkly) skin.

[Deleted]

Mangoes are so good! If you really get into eating them, get the pampered chef mango slicer. It's awesome.

[Deleted]

Thanks!

[Deleted]

Do a smell test too. It should smell fruity at the top near the stem.

[sonrisa]

They should be yellow/orange/red not green. They should smell fruity near the stem and give a little when touched. You probably need to get them a few days early since many stores sell them still green and then they ripen at home.

To cut it up:

There is a large pit in the middle shaped a bit like an oversized pumpkin seed. Skinning them is a pain in the neck. Stand it on it's end like a football. Cut off the two flat sides leaving about an inch in the middle for the pit. You'll have two little bowls of fruit. Score those into grids without cutting through the skin. Push the little bowl inside out and you can cut the cubes off easily.

www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cut_a_mango/

The first set of instructions on this wiki (they have a mango variety which is found less commonly in the US, so don't worry about how it looks different from your mango). www.wikihow.com/Cut-a-Mango

[Jalapeñomel]

Cleaning a mango sucks, but they are delicious.

[Deleted]

So I dice it in the skin then turn it inside out so I can pop the pieces off?

[sonrisa]

Nov 10, 2013 11:46:06 GMT -5 @reannalynne said:

So I dice it in the skin then turn it inside out so I can pop the pieces off?

Yes. Hack off the two flatter sides, then do that. It is by far the easiest way to peel and cut a mango.

[dexteroni]

All of this information is correct. Or.....you could see if Whole Foods has mango salsa in stock and just buy a tub of that. We've used it on salmon multiple times, and it's excellent.

[isabel]

Nov 10, 2013 11:24:37 GMT -5 y4m said:

It should give a bit when you squeeze it but still have a firm (not wrinkly) skin.

Exactly this. Here is a video that describes how to tell if a mango is ripe and, more importantly, how to cut one up. They have a large pit in the center that can make things difficult.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvLdPjpELyU

[Deleted]

Nov 10, 2013 12:14:23 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

All of this information is correct. Or.....you could see if Whole Foods has mango salsa in stock and just buy a tub of that. We've used it on salmon multiple times, and it's excellent.

The closest Whole Foods is an hour away. Not worth the drive.

[Booze Raccoon]

Since your question has already been answered, I'm going to tell you that I could live on mangoes alone.

Get 2.  One for your dish and one for you to eat.  You're welcome in advance.

[bornbaker]

Give it the squeeze and sniff test. Can't really go by color, the color doesn't indicate ripeness on a mango.

[redheadk]

I find it easiest to use a paring knife to cut the chunks without piercing the skin.