Preparing and enjoying the Mango
The mango is a juicy fruit which has a texture that is similar to the peach.
As with most fruits, there are many varieties, and the taste can change
Accordingly. With the mango, large is not always better! Most of the large mangos found in the typical supermarket are not worth the trouble to prepare, as the flesh tends to occasionally be pulpy with off tastes. The best tasting mangos in my opinion are the smaller mangos from Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and the Philippines. Mexico also does produce the smaller Asian mangos along with the larger sized ones. If there is an Oriental grocer nearby, that would be a good source for good mangos! Ask the owner where their mangos come from. He can also tell you the qualities of his mangos.
A mango should be ripe, but not overripe, as the taste goes downhill rapidly. A ripe mango is a golden color, firm but with a slight give under light thumb pressure. In Southeast Asia, many locals will also eat the green mango with a sprinkling of salt, for a tart refreshing break from the heat.
A word of caution; many people are mildly allergic to the outside skin of the mango, and so biting the skin should be avoided. Symptoms are a mild reddening around the lips which disappears after a few hours.
The mango has a single large flat seed which runs the length of the mango.
1- To start, hold the mango by the flat side, lengthwise and with the narrow part on the cutting surface, as shown in Fig 1.
With a sharp knife, start the cut about 1/4 inch off of the center line of the mango, the object being to cut as close along the seed as possible! (Also see picture 2 for the result.)
2- Once you have a feel for the seed shape and location, repeat the cut on the other side of the seed. You should now have two halves and the center with the seed as shown in Fig 2.
3- Now take the knife and carefully cut the skin off of the seed section, and make two longitudinal cuts in each mango half, as shown in Fig 3. Cut down to the skin, but do not cut through it!
4- You will now have two scored halves and the skinless seed section as in figure 4. Discard the skin that was cut off of the seed pod.
5-Now make a series of cuts across both halves of the mango, approx. 3/4 inch apart, as shown in Fig. 5. Once again, cut down to the skin but do not cut through it.
6- Now take each mango half and invert the skin by pressing in the middle of the skin so that the cut sections stand up as in Fig. 6.
The mango is now ready to eat! Pick up the seed section and using your teeth, scrape the flesh off of the seed pod. The mango halves can be eaten with a spoon or by biting off the chunks of mango flesh. The flesh should be as juicy as a ripe peach, with the sweetness of a mango! Do not eat the skin! Enjoy!
Written by Bob Gillette
