There are about 1,100 varieties of mango growing in the world. Most of these fruits come from India. Mangoes also grow in Mexico, throughout South America, and in various tropical regions. Mangoes are available in various colors, shapes and sizes depending on the season and where they are grown. To choose a good quality mango, you can learn a little about the features of the most common mango varieties and learn to search and find the best. See Step 1 for more information.
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Method 1 of 4: Choosing the Right Mango
Step 1. Touch and feel around the whole mango
Ripe mangoes will be slightly tender to the touch like avocados and peaches, but not soft or mushy enough that your fingers can enter or pierce the skin.
On the other hand, if you don't want to eat the mango in the next few days, you may want to choose a mango with a tougher skin and allow it to ripen at home. Ripening mangoes is discussed in one of the methods below
Step 2. Check the appearance of the mango
The ideal mango should be shaped like a rugby ball so you should choose a mango that is full, full and round, especially around the stem. Sometimes a ripe mango will have brown dots or spots, which is normal.
- Do not choose mangoes that are small or flat as they tend to be very fibrous. Avoid choosing mangoes with wrinkled or wilted skin because the mango is not ripe anymore.
- However, the Ataulfo mango is often very wrinkled and tender before the fruit is fully ripe. So, try to study the different varieties before deciding. These differences are discussed in the next section.
Step 3. Breathe in the mango scent near the stem
Ripe mangoes will always emit a strong, sweet, fragrant and fruity aroma around the stem. Ripe mangoes give off a slightly melon-like smell, but also pineapple-like, with a hint of carrot smell to it. Ripe mango is sweet and delicious. If the mango smells so good that you want to eat it then you've found the right mango.
Because mangoes have a high natural sugar content, they will naturally ferment so that the sour smell and the smell of alcohol are typical signs that the mango is no longer ripe. Avoid mangoes that smell sour or like alcohol, as these may be overripe
Step 4. Pay attention to the final color
In general, the color of a mango is not the best way to find out how ripe it is as a ripe mango can be bright yellow, green, pink, or red depending on the variety and season. Color alone won't really tell you much about the ripeness of a mango. Instead, familiarize yourself with the different types of mango varieties and the seasons they grow to learn more about what you want to know.
Step 5. Learn about the different varieties of mango
Since mangoes come in different colors and slightly different flavors depending on the season and where they are grown, you may need to learn how to identify certain types of mangoes to improve your overall knowledge of mangoes. There are 6 different types of mangoes.
Method 2 of 4: Choosing a Variety of Mango Types
Step 1. Choose the Ataulfo mango for a sweet and creamy taste
The Ataulfo mango has smaller seeds and more flesh. The color of this fruit is bright yellow and its shape is small like an oval. The Ataulfo variety is ripe when the skin color turns dark gold and small wrinkles may appear when the fruit is ripe. This mango comes from Mexico and is usually available from March to July.
Step 2. Opt for the Francis mango if you like a rich, biting and sweet taste
The Francis mango has a light yellow skin color with a hint of green and is usually oval or S-like in shape. The Francis mango is ripe when the green tinge on the skin disappears and the yellow color becomes more golden. The Francis mango grows on small plantations throughout Haiti and is usually available from May to July.
Step 3. Choose Haden mangoes for their rich taste with aromatic overtones
Haden mango skin is bright red with shades of green and yellow with small white spots. These mangoes are usually medium or large in size with an oval or round shape and are ripe when the green color of the skin turns yellow. The Haden Mango originates from Mexico and is only available during April and May.
Step 4. Choose Keitt mangoes for their sweet, fruity taste
The Keitt breed is oval in shape and is medium to dark green in color with a pinkish tinge. The skin of a Keitt mango will remain green even when it is ripe. The Keitt mango is cultivated both in Mexico and the United States and is usually available in August and September.
Step 5. Choose Kent mangoes for a rich and sweet taste
Kent mangoes are oval in shape and large, the skin color is dark green with a dark red tinge. This mango is ripe when the color or yellow spots begin to spread on the skin of the fruit. Kent mangoes are native to Mexico, Peru and Ecuador and are available from January to March and June to August.
Step 6. Choose a Tommy Atkins mango for a mild and sweet taste
The Tommy Atkins mango will have a skin tone with a dark red tinge with some green, orange and yellow accents. The shape is oval or oval. The only way to test the ripeness of a Tommy Atkins mango is to taste it with your hands, as the color of the fruit will not change. This type of mango is cultivated in Mexico and other areas of South America and is available from March to July and from October to January.
Method 3 of 4: Harvesting Mangoes
Step 1. Harvest mangoes about 100 to 150 days after the tree blooms
For most mango varieties, every flower you see on a healthy tree will bear fruit. You will find dark green fruit starting to form and increasing in size over the next three months. Start checking the mango tree around day 90 to see if the mangoes are starting to ripen.
Step 2. Notice the color change in the mango
Around the third month, the mangoes will begin to change color to a ripe color and become slightly tender. You can also see some mangoes falling to the ground. These are signs that the mango is ready to start harvesting.
- When you see some of the fruit is ripe, all other fruit of approximately the same size should also be picked, as these will be at their peak of ripeness in a day or two, if kept indoors. If you're planning to sell them to the market, you might want to pick them up a little earlier.
- Mangoes that ripen on the tree are much tastier than mangoes that are picked while still green and left to ripen indoors. Do what's best and easiest, but if you can, try to let the mangoes ripen on the tree as much as possible before you pick them. You will taste very delicious mango which you have never tasted before.
Step 3. Shake or shake the tree
The easiest and simplest way to pick up mangoes that are high up is to shake the tree and pick up the fruit, or catch as many of the fallen fruit as possible. If you're brave, you can stand under the branches of the tree carrying a big fruit basket and try to catch the mangoes before they fall to the ground so the fruit doesn't bruise. However, it is usually better to pick the fruit off the grass, where it is likely that the mango will also fall gently.
- When some mangoes start to fall off on their own, they are likely ready to be harvested, and may even be overripe. You don't have to wait until the fruits fall to the ground on their own before harvesting them.
- Young or fragile trees should not be shaken, but instead they can be shaken with ropes or long logs. If you are concerned about the thickness of the trunk, do not shake the tree.
Step 4. Use a fruit picker or make a tool with a similar function
Since mango is a very fragile fruit when ripe, some pickers choose to pick them up in a more sophisticated way using a fruit picker. It's basically a long stick with a metal claw at the end, perfect for picking up fruit that is high up like apples, pears, plums, and mangoes. Use the fork-shaped end to gently pull each mango off the tree and into the basket case at the end of the tool. This method is effective for picking fruit at high altitudes and if you have a lot of fruit to pick, you have nothing to lose by purchasing this tool. Fruit pickers are commonly available at seed shops and farm supply stores, though you can also make your own with the right tools.
Purchase the longest and lightest wooden stick (or one that is appropriate for the height of the tree). Use a small metal bucket, the kind used to hold golf balls or gardening equipment, and attach the bucket to the end of a wooden stick using duct tape. To make a good fork for picking fruit, remove the metal head from the pitchfork and stick the fork spikes to the rim of the bucket
Method 4 of 4: Ripe and Cut Mangoes
Step 1. Place the mango on the kitchen counter in cold temperature
If your mango isn't overripe, leave it on the counter in a moderately cool room temperature for a few days to ripen it a bit. For most mangoes, between two and four days is usually enough to soften them and make them ready to eat.
- Mangoes that are specially picked green will sometimes take longer, and may never even ripen the way you want them to. If it doesn't ripen within five to seven days, chances are the mango won't be any more ripe.
- In hotter temperatures, mangoes ripen more quickly and can go from unripe to overripe in a very short time. If it's hot and you're not in an air-conditioned area, watch your mangoes. That way the fruits will likely be fine.
Step 2. Put the mango in the fridge when it has reached the desired level of ripeness
Once the mango flesh has softened, you can refrigerate it if you want it to stay at peak ripeness for a few days before eating it. Chilling mangoes is also great because chilled mangoes are a delicacy.
Cold temperatures in the fridge will slow down the ripening process so the fruit won't ripen and will last up to 4 days longer than when the fruit was stored at room temperature, where the mango may turn ripe. However, you don't have to put the mango in the fridge if you want to eat it right away
Step 3. Wash the outside of the mango before cutting it
While most people prefer not to eat mango skin due to its bitter taste and fibrous texture, it's still a good idea to wash the outside of the mango before slicing it, especially for store-bought mangoes. Chemical residue, germs, and other debris can stick to fruit sold in supermarkets so it's a good idea to wash, scrub the mango skin with your hands, and prepare a clean surface to cut the mango for good.
- Mango peels are completely edible and are surprisingly high in compounds that can help control molecules called PPARs. This molecule helps regulate cholesterol, glucose and is thought to have a number of anti-cancer properties. Wash the mango skin and try to eat it!
- If you want to try the skin, you can simply eat the mango whole like an apple, or peel it and bite down on the fruit, eating the whole fruit.
Step 4. Cut off the sides of the mango seeds
The best way to slice a mango is to hold it upright with the small end down, the stem end facing up toward the ceiling. Move a sharp kitchen knife through the flesh of the fruit, just slightly beside the stem, cutting along the inside of the fruit. You will feel something hard push the knife aside. That means you've cut it correctly. Do the same on the other side of the stalk, then trim off the excess flesh on both sides of the fruit.
You will leave a hairy seed that may still have a lot of flesh on it. You can bite that part
Step 5. Make criss-cross cuts into the flesh from each side of the fruit
One of the cleanest ways to remove the flesh from the skin at this stage is to use a knife and cut the entire inside of the fruit's flesh. Make cuts in a criss-cross pattern on the fruit. Pay attention to the size of the mango, you may need to cut the mango pieces in 1.25 cm to 2.5 cm in size.
It's a good idea to cut it on a cutting board, although it's easier to do this while holding the skin of the fruit directly. A kitchen knife will easily cut through the skin of the fruit and pierce the hand, causing serious injuries
Step 6. Push the skin of the mango back and cut off the pieces of flesh
Once you've successfully sliced the flesh, push the skin side of the fruit to protrude the pieces and make it easier to cut the flesh off the skin. Carefully slice the flesh off into the bowl, or bite the flesh off like candy. Enjoy!
