Now various tropical fruits have begun to appear in large supermarkets, one of these fruits is mango, which is considered one of the best fruits in the world. You will also definitely meet mangoes in warm countries.

This fruit has a very delicious sweet taste. The taste of mango differs depending on the variety. The size of the fruit that is found in our stores is larger than an apple, but it can reach a length of 10 to 40 centimeters.

Mango is eaten raw, but various dishes, salads, juices, marmalades, compotes, jellies, dried fruits, chutneys are also prepared from it.

Mango peel has a tart taste reminiscent of pine needles. The rind is edible, but if eaten with the pulp, it will overpower the sweet taste of the pulp, so it should be separated from the flesh.

Also, do not forget that mango is a distant relative of poison ivy, this may explain the presence in its peel of a toxic resin called urushiol. This substance is poisonous and dangerous to health in significant quantities. Mango peel contains small amounts of toxic resin, but this can be enough to cause intestinal upset. Therefore, it is not recommended to eat mango peel, especially since it does not have a pleasant taste.

The stone is located inside the fruit and is very tightly attached to the pulp. It should be removed along with the peel.

How to choose a mango

Ripe mangoes should be slightly soft, even, without dents or browning. Some varieties of mangoes are very smelly, and some even at their most ripe have no aroma, so this is not an indicator. Just take evenly soft mangoes and you can't go wrong.

How to properly peel a mango

First, don't forget to wash the mango.

Cut the mango into 3 parts as shown in the picture, leaving the pit in the center.

Cut the pitted pieces with a wire rack as shown in the picture.

Turn the mango inside out and you end up with a "hedgehog", these mango cubes can either be cut off with a knife or eaten with a spoon.

Cut the peel from the central part and cut the pulp into pieces, separating from the stone.

This is a beautiful aesthetic way to eat mangoes.

The next way is the easiest. Take a mango and cut the skin off the fruit and eat it to the bone, which you then throw away.

You can also eat the pitted parts with a spoon.

One of the exotic fruits that are popular not only at home, but also in other countries, is mango. It is not surprising, because the ripe fruit has a rich taste, wonderful aroma and juicy pulp. It is also rich in many vitamins and microelements, which is why it is widely used to increase immunity and improve brain function by the inhabitants of India, where the plant is grown. But how to clean the sweet exotic and cut it?

What is this fruit and how is it eaten

Mango is a tropical fruit with a green, yellow or red skin, also called the Asian apple. It is rich in B and A vitamins, calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. By eating one ripe fruit, you will get half the daily requirement of vitamin C for an adult.

Please note that it is very common to say that mangoes can be eaten unripe. This is not true. Of course, in India, the locals calmly eat fruits at any stage of ripeness, much like we do apples, but they are used to this. Eating unripe fruits can lead to gastrointestinal upset and respiratory irritation.

The ripe fruit has a smooth, shiny peel of a bright and rich shade. The presence of dark specks on it is a sign of a ripe mango. If you lightly squeeze it with your fingers, then barely noticeable dents will remain. The fruit has a pleasant sweet smell, which intensifies at the tail. The pulp should be juicy and fibrous, easily separated from the stone. If it is hard, then the fruit is still green, if it is too viscous, like pumpkin porridge, it is overripe.

Do I need to peel a mango?

Mango peel is thick, elastic, tasteless and completely useless for the body. Even more, it is harmful because it contains urushiol, an organic oily toxin that causes skin allergies. If, after contact with the skin, you have a rash on your hands, this does not mean that you cannot use mangoes. Just put on latex gloves the next time you clean it. In addition, when buying a fruit in a supermarket, you cannot find out how the plant was processed during cultivation, and harmful substances accumulate in the peel of the fruit. Therefore, during cleaning, it, like the bone, should be removed.

How to peel fruit at home

Mango peel different ways, which differ only in whether the peel must be removed immediately or at the end of the process. In any case, you first need to tear off the tail with leaves, if any, and wash the fruit thoroughly under cool running water to wash off dust and dirt. Use a vegetable brush if you like, but this is not necessary as the skin will still need to be removed.

After that, wipe the fruit dry to make it easier to clean.

How to quickly and easily remove a bone with a knife

Note! Be sure to wear latex gloves if you suffer from allergies or are going to an important event soon. The urushiol contained in the peel can cause an allergic rash similar to hives.

Method 1

This method is good because you practically do not have to use a knife. This is important when it comes to mangoes, as their flesh is very slippery, making the fruit difficult to hold and easy to injure.

1. Place the fruit on a cutting board. Above should be the part where the tail used to be.
2. Take a serrated knife with your dominant hand (it will slip less than a regular one) and make one continuous vertical cut from the tail to the very bottom, reaching with the knife to the bone. If there are two barely noticeable lines on the sides of the mango that show where the stone is located, then cut along one of them.
3. Rotate the fruit 180 degrees and make another cut.
4. Next, you need to act depending on how the bone is located. If you cut along the lines, then it lies along the mango halves. Try just pulling the halves in different sides: If the fruit is ripe but not overripe, the pit will easily come off.
5. If the fruit cannot be divided, put the mango as you like, take one part with your fingers so that it does not move, and scroll the second several times. So, the bone will separate from only one half of the mango, and from the second it will be possible to get it with a spoon or cut it out.
6. If the bone is located across the cuts, then take both parts in your hands and scroll in different directions.
7. From the resulting parts, the pulp can be cut with a sharp knife or eaten with an ordinary teaspoon. The latter is especially convenient, since the peel will not allow the pulp to spread, and the juice to flow out, that is, it will act as a plate.

Video: how to remove a bone in this way

Method 2

The second option allows you to quickly pull out the bone without removing the peel. After removing the stone, the fruit can be peeled and cut as you like, even into rings. This is very convenient, because after removing the peel, the mango becomes very slippery, and it is almost impossible to remove the stone without turning the pulp into porridge.

1. Lay the mango on a cutting board.
2. Make an incision from top to bottom near the tail, reaching the stone, and turn the knife in the direction of your dominant hand to separate the pulp. Remove the bone with a spoon.
3. Next, you can carefully remove the skin or immediately cut the mango.

Method 3

This method is suitable for those who are good with a knife. With proper skill, you can quickly remove the stone without removing the peel.

1. Cut the mango in half by running a knife along the flat side of the pit.
2. Run your knife right under the bone to cut it out.
3. You will be left with two halves of the fruit and a flat bone, which should be thrown away. The pulp can be eaten with a spoon or peeled and cut.

How to peel a mango

• If the mango is ripe, then the peel will easily separate from the pulp. Make four cuts in a cross on the side of the fruit opposite the tail. After that, gently pull on a piece of skin.
• If it is inconvenient to remove the skin with your fingers due to the slippery pulp, then you can use a small knife. But try to cut the peel very thinly, practically without clinging to the pulp. And be careful with the knife so you don't cut yourself.
• You can also peel the mango with a regular vegetable peeler. The only thing is, do not put too much pressure on the fruit, otherwise you will cut off a lot of pulp. Take care of your hands, they will be very slippery.

The above methods work great when it comes to whole fruit. But what if you have already cut it in half and removed the bone, but you don’t want to suffer with a knife?

1. Take two containers: an empty clean glass and a plate. Take one mango half in your dominant hand. Grab the glass with your free hand to keep it from moving.
2. Hold the mango close to the glass so that the skin remains out of the bowl. Press down on the fruit without applying much force.
3. Transfer the pulp to a plate and discard the skin. Note that you do not use a knife or a vegetable peeler, which means you will definitely not get hurt.
4. As a result, you will have peeled mango halves that can be beautifully sliced ​​to serve.

Video: two of the easiest ways to peel a mango

How to cut a mango beautifully (with photo)

Cubes (hedgehog method)

1. Wash the mango as in preparation for peeling.
2. Place it on a cutting board with the bone facing you and tail up. Hold the knife parallel to the board, to the side of the bone.
3. Cut off a part of the mango. After that, turn the fruit and repeat the manipulation with the other side.
4. Now you have two identical parts and a middle with a bone. Take one of the parts with pulp and make incisions on it with a lattice, without cutting the skin.
5. Press down on the skin with your fingers so that the cubes of pulp are on top.
6. Carefully cut the resulting cubes with a knife. If the fruit is overripe and you intend to eat it yourself, you can simply use a fork to pick the mango right off the skin.
7. Next, carefully remove the skin with your fingers from the part of the mango where the pit remains.
8. Cut out the bone from the middle. After that, the remaining pulp should also be cut into cubes.

Video: how to cut fruit using the hedgehog method

Slices

Mango can also be cut into slices, like an ordinary apple. Just do it with care: the fruit will quickly become slippery due to the juice, as a result of which the knife will begin to slide off. For convenience, you can cut off the top and bottom of the fruit, so it will become easier to use the knife, and the slices themselves will look neater.

thin plates

If you work well with a knife, then you can cut the fruit into thin slices, so that later you can decorate them, for example, with a dessert. Just remove the peel using one of the methods described above, and then, carefully holding the fruit, cut off the plates from it with a sharp knife.

Video: a beautiful rose from a whole mango

Video: how to quickly cut a mango

Video: about the benefits of mango

Mango can be called a capricious fruit, because its ripeness is not easy to check, and even more difficult to clean and cut beautifully. However, with the help of the above methods, you can easily cope with this task. Do not deny yourself the pleasure of eating a delicious overseas fruit, and your body - to get the vitamins and minerals it needs. But remember that everything is good in moderation: do not eat more than two mangoes a day.

Exotic for us, mango fruit is one of the most common in South-East Asia. Its fruits are sold in local markets, in supermarkets, or simply along the road in cars. But all this exoticism can be seen only during its mass maturation. Mango's name means " great fruit”, which is why you can often hear that the locals call it the “Fruit King”.

Mango is an evergreen tree, sometimes reaching a height of 40 meters. But modern breeders have bred dwarf breeds, which is very convenient for those who grow this fruit on an industrial scale.

AT young age the leaves of the tree are painted in a reddish tint, but over time, the older the plant, the stronger the saturated green color.

During flowering, the crown is covered with small yellow flowers. There are several varieties of mango, each of them differs in color and size of the fruit itself. And some are even prone to self-pollination. Fruits are not tied if the tree grows in inappropriate climatic conditions. Night air temperature should be above 13 degrees. Mango does not like high levels of humidity; for fruitful growth, there must be fresh air and enough light. That is why they try to plant the plant in open areas.

What does mango look like?

Mango fruits can be yellow, green, orange, red. In shape, they resemble a slightly elongated ovoid structure. Average weight varies between 200-250 grams. But quite often you can find fruits that weigh up to 400-500 grams, and the real champions are considered to weigh up to 1.5 kilograms.

Mango skin is quite dense and smooth. The pulp is fibrous with a sweet taste. Inside is a large bone of a light yellow hue, slightly flattened on both sides.

When is mango season in Thailand?

Mango is one of the tastiest fruits in Thailand. The climate of the country is perfect for the ripening of this tropical delicacy. I just want to draw your attention to the fact that the fruit season is very short and lasts only from April to May. It was at this time that all the markets of the country are overflowing with yellow fruits, and the price for 1 kilogram drops to 15-20 baht.

Mango flavor

To taste the real taste of mango, you need to find a fruit that has ripened on a tree. The fruits purchased from our store will have a slightly different taste, as they are plucked while still green. Thai mango, on the other hand, has a special flavor, reminiscent of a combination of ripe pineapple and peach. Its pulp just melts in your mouth. An eaten piece is able to quench thirst, fill the body with freshness and coolness and at the same time awaken the appetite. More subtle gourmets generally find it difficult to compare its taste with any fruit familiar to us.

Useful properties of mango

O useful properties Mango can be told for hours. There are really a lot of benefits from it, which is why we will try to highlight the most basic points:

1. First of all, it is the main "supplier" of ascorbic acid. Vitamin C in it is several times more than in lemons. Due to this feature, the fruit is recommended to eat with a cold.
2. Mango can have a positive effect on bone tissue human and at the same time accelerates the process of wound healing.
3. Mango fruits can lower blood cholesterol levels.
4. During the experiment, American scientists found that the fruit accelerates the removal of sugar from the human body. Due to these features, the fruit should be eaten by those who have diabetes mellitus or have a tendency to be overweight.
5. Fruits have no less effect on the cardiovascular system. The components that they contain are able to strengthen blood vessels, and also facilitate the course of inflammation and allergies.
6. Due to the fact that mangoes contain large amounts of vitamins A and C, it is much easier for the body to endure colds. If the body lacks vitamin A, then this can affect the quality of vision in the evening.
7. Mango components are able to destroy free radicals that negatively affect brain cells. It can also serve as a prevention of cancer, namely breast and prostate cancer.
8. Due to the high content of potassium, the fruit is able to regulate arterial pressure, as well as maintain electrolyte, water and acid-base balance.
9. High fiber content improves performance digestive system, normalizes the intestinal microflora and removes all toxins from the body.
10. Vitamin B6 is able to cope with stressful situations. Regular consumption of fruit helps to calm down and improve the health of the nervous system.

Mango is also a dietary product, it is able to improve metabolic processes and accelerate the excretion of fluid by the body.

Harm mango

Despite such a huge list of mango benefits, there is still a group of people who should be careful when eating this fruit:

1. Not recommended for children under 3 years of age. The thing is that mango is an exotic fruit, which is practically not represented in our countries. It is not known how the child's body may react to the introduction of a new product.
2. After you have eaten a piece of fruit, try to exclude alcohol for at least 2-3 hours.
3. Mango is contraindicated for owners of sensitive mucous membranes.
4. Caution also needs to be for those who are prone to allergic reactions.

How to choose the right mango?

Picking a ripe mango can sometimes seem like a daunting task. With a rich color gamut, accurate performance appearance just doesn't exist. But still there are a few rules that you should pay attention to when buying mangoes:

1. The peel of a ripe fruit should be smooth, shiny and beautiful. The presence of small brown blotches will also indicate the maturity of the fetus.
2. To the touch, the fruit is quite dense and heavy. By pressing lightly on it, a small dent should form, which almost immediately levels out. Too soft fruits will indicate that they are starting to deteriorate inside.
3. If the mango is overripe, then its peel will be flabby with numerous deep wrinkles.
4. The aroma of a ripe fruit is pleasant and delicate with a sweet tinge. Alcoholic notes and the presence of acid in the smell will indicate that the fruit is spoiling.
5. If you buy fruits that are too green, you are unlikely to be able to bring them to a ripe state at home.

How to store mango?

Mangoes can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature. It all depends on the quality of the fruits you purchased. If the fruits are slightly greenish, then it is better to leave them in the room. If you have purchased ripe fruits, then for their safety it is advisable to use the refrigerator compartment. Those who want to keep tasty pulp for several months should place the fruit in the freezer.

There are several ways to peel a mango:

The easiest way is to take a sharp knife and carefully remove the peel from the fruit. Then separate the pulp from the stone and cut it into small pieces. It should be borne in mind that the fruits are quite juicy and during such cleaning, their juice can stain hands or clothes.

The second way will be more aesthetic. With the help of a knife, halves of the fruit are cut along the bone. Then cross cuts are made on them. At the same time, the integrity of the skin must be preserved. Turn the halves inside out slightly and use a knife to cut off the resulting diamonds.

If the mango is slightly overripe, then it can be cut into two halves, and the pulp can be eaten with a spoon.

Mango is indeed recognized as one of the most delicious fruits, which is also rich in various vitamins and minerals. To feel the real taste and aroma of fruits is possible only when traveling to tropical countries. That is why try to choose the right rest time so that the trip is remembered not only by swimming in the sea, but also by getting to know new fruits.