The mango is a sweet, juicy, stone fruit commonly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is native to southern Asia and eventually spread to the Middle East, East Africa, and South America via human travel and exploration. Mangos are related to the cashew and pistachio and come in a variety of colors – from green to red and yellow to orange.
By Rebecca Brundidge
Mangoes are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate and also contain vitamin E, copper, vitamin K, and potassium. Additionally, they contain antioxidants like the pigment-producing flavonoid compounds beta-carotene and quercetin.
Despite the mango’s juicy sweetness and nutritious characteristics, many people avoid buying them altogether because they are unsure how to properly cut them. The mango has a large, hard pit in the center that houses a seed. This makes cutting the mango rather difficult and awkward, and if not done properly, a lot of the tasty fruit is wasted. Here is a step by step guide on how to get the most out of your mango.
- Start by standing the mango up vertically stem side down.
- Place your knife slightly over to one side of the center and slice downward. If you run into the pit, move your knife slightly farther over and slice downward. You should end up with two pieces: half of the mango containing the pit and the other half without the pit
- Next, stand the mango up vertically and repeat the slicing steps with the other half of the mango. You should now have three pieces: one piece containing the pit and two other fleshy pieces without the pit.
- Take the two fleshy pieces and slice a grid pattern into the yellow fruit side taking caution to not cut through the skin.
- Now, you can either slice or scoop the fruit out. Scoop out with a spoon or flip the mango inside out and slice the scored fruit off with a knife.
If you would rather watch a video, check out this step by step video by the National Mango Board.