How to choose and cut mangoes (and turn them into shakes)

In case someone here didn't know; I love mangoes and this caught my eye.


Friday, Jun 4, 2010 21:01 ET
Francis Lam
How to choose and cut mangoes (and turn them into shakes)
A primer on one of our greatest fruits, with recipes for mango lassi and my mom's mango shake
By Francis Lam

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But no matter which mango you go for, look for skins that are taut and smooth. The fruit should feel heavy for its size, a sign of density and juiciness.

To test for ripeness, go with your nose and hands, not your eyes. While most mangoes will change color as they ripen from green to yellow or red, the coloration is really inconsistent. Sometimes an awesomely ripe mango will still be mostly green.

Give the mango a sniff. It should make you want to eat it, smelling like coconuts and flowers and a vacation. A really great one will leave a scent — sweet, dark and leathery — on your hands and maybe have a slight gasoline-y smell. (You won't taste that.)

Then give it a gentle squeeze. If it's ready, it will yield a bit. Remember that mangoes will continue to ripen as they sit, so if you're not planning on eating them for a few days, it might be better to buy ones that are a bit firmer.

Let them sit and ripen at room temperature, and then when they're ready, they can last a few days in the fridge. But, to my mind, it's hard to put them away and stop letting them perfume the room. Better just to eat them.

How to peel and cut a mango

It breaks my heart to see good people do wrong by their mango, struggling with a peeler that can't cut through the thick skin, mashing up the fruit underneath or trying to cut through the thick, flat pit and giving up.

My favorite way to approach a mango with a knife is fast and easy, plus it gives you bite-sized chunks of fruit on a neat little serving dish made from the skin and leaves you with a cook's treat — a fleshy pit to enjoy before your guests eat all your mangoes.

more...

http://www.salon.com/food/eyewitness_cook/index.html?story=/food/francis_lam/2010/06/04/how_to_cut_mango

because you end up with a sticky mess any other way.

Mango salsa: 1 mango, juice of 1 lime, cilantro to taste, 2 seeded, minced jalapenos, 2 seeded, minced serranos (I like it hot), 1/2 chopped red onion (optional, I leave it out). Mix and serve with grilled poultry, pork or fish. Pure heaven. You can also put it on fish tacos or eat it with chips. One of my patients ate it out of a cup with a spoon, it's so good (he couldn't have the chips, poor guy).

thanks!

At least the larger, standard type (Tommy Atkins is the name of the variety, I believe).

They are a TROPICAL fruit. Why can't the fools that run produce departments get this through their thick skulls?

These mangoes are picked far too green, and then, they put them into COLD STORAGE at 30 some degrees. They never properly ripen, just sort of turn brown and mushy around the pit and get soft and then rot.

The only mangoes I've purchased over the past few years are the very small, bright yellow/orange Mexican ones. They generally are much riper and actually taste like something. But, they really only come in the spring time, from about March through June.

There really isn't any point in spending a dollar or more on a worthless piece of fruit.

store have actually been pretty good. They are a little green, but then they ripen and taste great. I got some organic ones today.

Sorry about my rant above. It's a pet peeve of mine.

It really does depend on the store and whether or not the produce people know about special handling requirements for tropical fruits, or just stick them into the cold temp coolers with the regular produce. It also depends on how long the fruit was exposed to too cold of temps, and what stage it was picked at.

I used to be a florist for 20 years. We had the same issues with tropical flowers. Good wholesalers knew how to take care of them (like making the driver take the box of gingers or whatever up front in the cab rather than in the 34 degree back refrigerated section of the truck). Others did not.

Chilled to0 cold, below about 45 to 50 for most items, tropical plants get chilling injury and turn black.

The bottom line for me is that it's hard to find a good mango here in Michigan. Perhaps closer to the source would be better.