I have never eaten a mango. I bought one tonight and I have a few questions. How do you tell when it is ripe. Mine is green, hard, with a small red area. Do I wait until it turns all red? Do you eat the green/red too or do you peel it?

mmmm...I love mangos!

You should be able to tell if it is ripe by feel. Mangos come in a variety of colors, so you can't always tell by the color. It should be slightly soft (firm but yielding slightly when pressed). If it is hard, it isn't ripe yet. If it is mushy, eat it up right away because it's overripe. You also might be able to smell a fruity fragrance when it is ripe if you sniff the end of it (although you don't always get a fragrance like this with grocery store produce so I wouldn't worry if you can't smell anything). If it isn't ripe, you can put in a paper bag and it should ripen in a day or so.

Yes, you definitely want to peel it before you eat it. You'll have to cut the peel away with a knife. Mangos are very messy to eat (I once heard that the only way to eat a mango without making a mess is in a bathtub) so I usually cut the fruit away from the pit and eat it with a fork rather than trying to eat it like an apple.

- Barbara

I just want to say I had the best mango EVER yesterday. I don't eat the skin either. I've heard some people get a mild allergic reaction to the skin if it touches their lips/face.

Inside a mango is a big oval pit. I stand the mango up in a big bowl and then use a knife to cut one plump side all the way off. I cut this piece in half, down the middle and use my teeth to scrape all the flesh off. I repeat this process until I've cut off the majority of the mango. Then, I use my teeth to scrape the remaining mango off the pit. It is delicious, messy and I sometimes have to floss a bit (mangos can have thready bits that get stuck in the teeth). Get several papertowels!!

I just smelled my mango lol. It only has a slight smell to it so maybe I will be able to tell when it gets a bit riper. It is still as hard as a rock so I will put in a paper bag. Thanks for all the tips on ripeness and how to eat it
Barbara and Glory. I hope I like it.

Yeah, it should yield a bit when you press it. I do prefer them very ripe, but a not-so-ripe mango is still good and not as messy!

When I was a kid, I lived in India for a couple of years and we had these two mango trees in the backyard. The way Glory described it is the way I used to cut up my mangoes and devour them. I <3 a good mango...YUM!

I never used to eat mango unless they were served somewhere, because I never knew how to gracefully cut them. But here's how I do it:

http://homecooking.about.com/od/howt...s/cutmango.htm

Hello all! I have never posted here, so I hope I'm doing this right. I love mangos and after reading your posts have to share my newest favorite gadget: the OXO mango splitter...works great, although not on overly ripe mangos.

Hope this link works: http://www.oxo.com/xxoxo_ibeCCtpOXOP...a=b&item=48557

If not, I think these are readily available for purchase at most stores that carry OXO kitchen stuff.

Darn, the link didn't work for me, but I entered mango in their search and found the splitter. What a neat tool, I've never seen anything like it!

Hard green mango is probably a raw mango! It is not used as a fruit in a conventional sense. It is sour and tangy and you can peel it and grate in it a salad.

Yellow and soft is the kind of conventional mango and you can eat it ripe.

Sunnigummi: India has the best mangoes ever (unfortunately importing magoes in US from anywhere is banned )

Mangoes in India:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN



Mangoes in US:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...%3Den%26sa%3DN

??

Today, mango production in Florida, on approximately 1,700 acres (688 ha), is about 8,818 tons (8,000 MT) annually in "good" years, and valued at $3 million. Fruits are shipped not only to northern markets but also to the United Kingdom, Netherlands, France and Saudi Arabia. In advance of the local season, quantities are imported into the USA from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and, throughout the summer, Mexican sources supply mangos to the Pacific Coast consumer. Supplies also come in from India and Taiwan.

Mangos have been grown in Puerto Rico since about 1750 but mostly of indifferent quality. The fruits are plentiful on local markets and shipments are made to New York City where there are many Puerto Rican residents.

Leading exporters of fresh mangos are: the Philippines, shipping to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan; Thailand, shipping to Singapore and Malaysia; Mexico, shipping mostly 'Haden' to the United States.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/m...mango_ars.html

I just bought mangos today. MMMMMM yummy