The best way to ripen a mango is to leave it on the kitchen counter at 20ºC. If you wish to accelerate the maturing process place the mango in a paper bag overnight (some people place an apple with the mango in the bag to create more natural ethylene gas and further decrease the ripening time). Once ripened the mango can be refrigerated for a few days, but should be used shortly thereafter.

How to eat mangoes

Mangoes are one of the most flavourful and refreshingly juicy fruits available! Let's talk about how to eat mangoes, because they can be tricky to pit and slice. Pay close attention so you can master mango preparation! The most direct way to enjoy a mango is to peel it and eat it like a peach, nibbling off every last bit of flesh connected to the pit (Figure 15. How to eat a mango Step1, Figure 16. How to eat a mango Step 2, Figure 17. How to eat a mango Step 3, Figure 18. How to eat a mango Step 4, and Figure 19. How to eat a mango Step 5).

Figure 15. How to eat a mango Step 1.

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Figure 16. How to eat a mango Step 2.

Figure 17. How to eat a mango Step 3.

Figure 18. How to eat a mango Step 4.

Figure 19. How to eat a mango Step 5.

Remove part of the skin. Put the mango on top of a stick and enjoy like a lollypop (you can add salt, lemon and chilli. (Figure 20 How to eat a mango Step 6).

Figure 20. How to eat a mango Step 6.

Some people use more efficient methods. The first one is called the "Quick Mango Cube." First, slice each side of the mango along the seed to give two halves, and then hold one portion of the mango with the peel side down. Score the fruit down to the peel in a tic-tac-toe fashion. With both hands, bend the peel backwards. Cut the cubes along the peel to remove from the skin. Remove the remaining fruit on the seed by cutting along the seed.

Another way to prepare a mango is called "Easy Slices". (Figure 21. How to prepare a mango Step 1, Figure 22. How to prepare a mango Step 2, Figure 23. How to prepare a mango Step 3, Figure 24. How prepare a mango Step 4, Figure 25. How prepare a mango Step 5).

1.Cut off both ends of the fruit. Place fruit on flat end and cut away peel from top to bottom along curvature of the fruit. Cut fruit into slices by carving lengthwise along the pit. With the peel still on, slice through the mango lengthwise, getting as close as you can to the large fibrous pit in the centre. You will now have one large mango slice, with the skin still on.

Figure 21. How to prepare a mango Step 1.

Figure 22. How to prepare a mango Step 2.

2. Turn the mango over and cut off the other side just above the other side of the pit.

3. Slice the flesh into cubes without cutting all the way through to the skin.

4. Turn the fruit section inside out and cut the flesh off the skin, or just eat it from the skin.

5. Peel the remaining band of flesh on the pit, and eat it right off the pit, or slice it off. If you want to be messy, just peel the mango with a paring knife and eat it like a pear. Have a lot of napkins to clean up the juice.

6. Put the fruit on a flat surface and peel the skin by cutting it from the top to the bottom along the curve. Slice the fruit along the seed. Use a sharp knife to cut along the cheeks of the mango. With a sharp thin-bladed knife, cut off both ends of the fruit. Place the fruit on its flat end and cut away the peel from top to bottom along the curvature of the fruit.

7. Cut into slices by carving lengthwise along the pit. Separate the halves to keep the delicious centre. With a spoon, scoop the pulp of the halves.

Figure 23. How to prepare a mango Step 3.

Figure 24. How to prepare a mango Step 3.

Figure 25. How to prepare a mango Step 4.

Cubes

1. Start with the Mango "cheek"; Fillet off its pit lengthwise. Cut them into cubes using a sharp knife. (Without cutting the skin).

2. Turn the half outside separating the cubes. Remove the cubes from the skin by the knife or eat them directly on a fork or stick.

3. Cut skin on top of mango crosswise.

4. Pull skin away from fruit in quarters or eighths.

5. Place mango on a fork and serve.

6. Cut cross-wise the skin of the head.

Figure 26. How to prepare a mango Step 6.

a) Unripe and mature mangoes

Mangoes vary in colour depending on the variety and exposure to sunlight. Most mangoes start off with a dark green skin colour and develop patches of gold, yellow, or red as they mature. The skin is smooth and encloses yellow to orange flesh that is softly moist and richly flavoured. Mangoes emit a pleasant scent of pine and peach from the stem when ripe. Here is a helpful tip when selecting mangoes. If you do not detect a fragrant aroma, it usually means the mango has no flavour. Mangoes may be round, oval or kidney shaped and are about the size of a small melon or large avocado. The most popular varieties are Tommy Atkins, Kent, Keitt and Haden. Mangoes are high in vitamin A and a good source of vitamin C. A whole mango should be sliced in half (lengthwise, like a bagel) with a sharp fruit knife, and then cut into quarters. Hold each piece down against your plate with a fork, skin-side up, and pull the skin away. The mango can then be cut up and eaten with a spoon .You may also be served one that has already been cut - halved, perhaps, with the seed removed but the skin intact. Eat this like an avocado, with a spoon. Mango fruit matures 4 to 5 months after flowering. In addition to the fruit colour and softness, proper maturity can be ascertained by the snap of the stem after slight pulling. Harvesting fruit with a 4 inch or so stem in tact prevents leakage of milky, resinous sap. Fruit can be picked green and left to ripen at room temperature, usually a week. Harvested fruit should immediately be washed to remove any sap, which will reduce the change of anthracnose. After ripening, fruit keeps at room temperature for one week, or refrigerated for 2 weeks. Mangoes are ready to eat if the flesh gives way slightly when you squeeze them gently. Another good way to tell is to smell the stem end: If it gives off a fruity aroma, you're ready for a real treat. Because mangoes vary from green to yellow to purplish-red, colour is not an indicator of whether a mango is ripe. Fruit should be immature, with shoulders below the stem insertion, white flesh and soft stone. Procedures for post-harvest handling given for the Julie and Graham mangoes also apply to pickling mangoes. Evolution of the colour of the mango pulp during its maturation The following denominations or numbers can be used when specified in reference to the statement of the category, describing the colour of the pulp as an indication of the state of maturation of any lot of mature mangoes.

1. Beige: (not white) means that the pulp of the mango must be completely beige, the shadow of this colour may vary from light to dark.

2. Changing: means that there is a clear change from beige to yellow, over not more than 30 percent of the observed area, and this change of colour starts near from the pit of the fruit

3. Yellow: means that more than 30 percent, but not more than 60 percent of the pulp observed area is of a yellow colour.

4. Yellow-orange: means that more than 60 percent of the pulp is yellow and that there is a clear change of colour from yellow to orange in no more than 30 percent of the pulp, starting this colouration from the nearest part to the pit of the fruit.

5. Orange: means that more than 90 percent of the pulp is orange.

b) For the analysis of the pulp colouration, the fruit pulp must be cut throughout the flat side of the mango, as near to the pit as possible. The pit must be visible.

c) Any lot of mangoes that do not fulfil the requisites colour statements can be called "mixed colours". Evolution of the mango skin colour during the fruit maturation The fruit normal colour after the harvest is mainly dark green, with red veins at the shoulders and a light green to yellow colouration on its end. This stage matches the minimum of maturity and provides the maximum of the mango shelf life between the exporter and the consumer. The skin of Acapulco mangoes (a Mexican variety) does not have any vein at any stage of maturity. The colour of the skin fruit is mainly yellow-orange with few green nuances. Some varieties like Tommy Atkins and Manila have clearly the red veins. The fruit starts losing firmness and this is the best stage to sell it to the consumer.

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