Dealing with mangos

[Tab]

We have been getting into making smoothies here, and one ingredient I like to mix in (besides kiwi!) is a nice ripe mango.

I've only used a few so far, and although I like the addition, I find handling the mango itself a small nightmare. It peels easily enough with a small knife, but to get the flesh off the pit seems to require some otherworldly technique that I can't imagine. Invariably I am reduced to shredding it by hand, mango all over the place. Scraping with a knife fails, cutting is useless, and it's getting so that I just don't want to hassle with them, taste be damned.

Is there a trick to getting the flesh off these things, or is it just one of those things that if you're not going to put it in your mouth and eat it then you need a specialized industrial mango corer for?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Peel it and then cut it off the stone .........

I cut the ends off, just to make the slicing easier. Now that you've shreeded a few, you see the odd shape of the stone. You need to slice the peeled mango down eaither 'flat' side of the stone. This leaves you with three pieces. Two that are just less than a half a mango and the center slice with the stone in it.

You can then just shave the rest of the meat off the stone. The halves you can dow ahtever you want with.

I like to make sorbet from mangoes. I also use them in stir frys. And fruit salads. or we just eat 'em for dessert.

[Tab]

2. Shaving the meat off is the messy part

Any tips for that?

[politicat]

7. A multi-tined fork.

I have one that is supposed to be for tenderizing meat, but it works really well to hold things still and as a slicing guide. It works for the mango if you shove it into the pit. Then the mango has a handle.

But honestly, we just buy frozen mango. It's cheaper, faster, generally fresher (since it is processed at the field instead of having to be shipped 2000 miles to my grocer) and doesn't leave me looking like I lost a fruit salad fight.

[The empressof all]

3. I love, love, love mangos

They are however a major pain in the ass. I buy frozen mango chunks at Trader Joes for Mango Smoothies. I throw them in with frozen pineapple and some OJ or Soy Milk......Yum.

You can also freeze canned mango or canned pineapple in it's juice for smoothies. Both mango and pineapple are actually palatable canned not like many other fruits.

[Warpy]

4. Don't peel it!

See which way it is flatter, and you can get an idea of where that flat pit is. Cut down each side, leaving that really nice three quarters of an inch of flesh on the peel, then cut down the other two sides. The best way to deal with the flesh is to cut through it in a crosshatch pattern down to (but not through) the skin. Then just invert the skin and shave the nice, neat squares of mango flesh off it.

This is the easiest way to eat a mango out of hand as well as get cut mango to go into a blender for a smoothie or into a bowl for mango salsa.

Trying to peel a mango first just gets you a lot of mashed flesh and goo all over everything.

(and yes, I make a lot of mango salsa to use with grilled fish or tofu: flesh of one mango, hot peppers to taste, I use 2 jalapeno and 2 serrano; cilantro and lime juice, mix and eat. One of my patients who wasn't allowed chips on a cardiac diet ate a whole cup of this stuff with a spoon)

[The empressof all]

5. You are correct

It's the only way to do a fresh Mango. I love, love, love Mango salsa and you do need a fresh Mango.

Anyone have a good Mango Chicken recipe. One of the Indian resturants near me makes one I want to take a bath in but I haven't found a way to replicate it yet. (They don't share their recipes...I've asked) I've googled but haven't seen one that looks right yet. This dish isn't sweet but I know they do use ripe mango.

[Tab]

9. If not Mango Chicken

I'd like a recipe for something different.

A couple of years ago I went out to ski in Colorado and stayed at Keystone Resort at the Inn at Keystone. The weather sucked (I probably should have just stayed home in New Hampshire and skied here), but anyway, I went across the street to this little bar/restaurant where I saw this intriguing menu item for a Mango Duck Quesadilla, and it was just frickin' yum, I believe I ordered it nearly every time I ate there.

So if anyone knows how to make the Mango Duck Quesadilla, lemme know.

[Tab]

8. Now THAT'S the clue I wanted.

Because I've been peeling the damn thing and it's just a mess from that point forward.

[noamnety]

11. wikipedia has a good photo of the crisscross thing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mango - look at the photos on the right hand side.

[mike_c]

6. for smoothies I buy frozen sliced mangos at the supermarket...

...and just throw them into the blender as is, or at most, after a few seconds in the microwave.

[liberalhistorian]

16. Oh, no, you would do that

to that poor cat? No wonder he wouldn't come anywhere near me! :evilgrin: :P

[Wordie]

10. Easy way to deal with mangos...

Don't peel it first. Take a sharp knife and cut into it lengthwise, just to the side of one side of the pit (you have to have an idea of about where the pit is located, but once you have dealt with mangos a few times, that's not too hard), cutting an approximately 1/3 piece of the mango completely away. Then do the same thing on the other side, slicing through lengthwise right up against the pit on the second side. You'll then have three pieces: two sections without pit and one with the pit and the part surrounding it. Take the two pieces without pit and score the inside with the knife, right down to the peel, creating a 1/2" square grid with your knife. Then you can sort of flatten the pieces, and using the knife, slice right up against the peel, separating it from the 1/2" mango chunks. Then with the remaining piece (with the pit) you can peel and cut off additional chunks away from the pit.

This is still messy - unavoidable with mangos - but it's easier than a lot of other methods. I hope I've explained it in a way that is understandable.

[Dora]

12. I wring my pits like a dishcloth.

Yeah, the no-peel trick is a good one, but then you're left with a pit that still has plenty of mango meat.

I peel the skin off the pit, and squeeze the dickens outta it with my bare hands. Slippery, yes. But it's a nice juicy addition to a banana apple salad.

[babylonsister]

13. I never bought a mango in my life, but after this thread I

bought one today to experiment with. What should the consistency of the skin be to determine ripeness? Hard, soft, medium? Has anyone tried to plant this pit?

Edit to add: can you eat the skin?

[Tab]

14. Soft; it ripens up real quick.

I haven't tried the skin, but my dog likes it.

[Warpy]

15. Give it the sniff test

something you need to do for all fresh fruit. If it smells like the fruit, chances are it's ripe enough to eat, that and "give" in the peel denoting the flesh underneath has started to soften.

[Dora]

17. Don't eat the skin

unless you like the taste of turpentine.

[Warpy]

19. ....and the texture of old bicycle tires

[Tab]

20. I can't account

for my dog's tastes... :)

[mike_c]

21. it's toxic for many people, too....

Mango is in the Anacardiaceae, the same family as poison ivy. Many people develop allergies to the skin.

[lavenderdiva]

18. have you ever bought avocados before?

if so, you know how you want one that isn't completely mushy inside the skin, but just soft when you give it a gentle squeeze? That's what you want to look for when buying a mango. Don't get one that is rock hard, or one that's too mushy.

[Justpat]

22. I buy them already peeled and cut up. The little Korean

market down the street is kind enough to do this EVERY DAY.

My husband lives on protein shakes, so this is a hugh help.
Peeling a mango is about as much fun as scrubbing the deck
of an ship with a toothbrush.

[Tab]

23. Well, I don't have a little Korean

grocer down the street, but I wish I did.

[Justpat]

24. I really love this store. My husband and I work

seven days a week so we don't have the time and energy to
do great things, or even boring things, in the kitchen.

I appreciate everything that makes my life easier.

Mango's are a pain. I love them but they are impossible for me
to deal with.