Ripe mango is great for making a refreshing mango smoothie and unripe mango can be used to make a tasty mango pie, kinda like an apple pie, but with mango. Read on for how to choose a ripe mango and the best way to cut a mango for eating, plus two very tasty mango recipes for both ripe and unripe mangoes.
How to Choose a Ripe Mango
How a mango feels to the touch is the best indicator of its ripeness, so hold the mango and give it a squeeze.
Firm = Unripe
Gives Slightly = Ripe
Feels Soft = Unripe
A mango with black spots on it might be going bad. Give it a squeeze, and if the mango feels squishy, then it is overripe. A mango that smells especially mango-ee might be ready to eat, too, but give it a squeeze because that is always the best way to tell when a mango is ripe for the eating.
How to cut a Mango
Mango fruit has a large flat seed through its center. The seed is shaped like a disk and makes the fruit complicated to cut, but knowing where the seed is makes the task slightly easier. Firstly, wash the mango. The mango shape is more oval than round, with slightly wider cheeks on each side. Using the mango stem as the center, take a knife and cut away the cheeks of mango on either side of the stem, leaving about a ¼ inch thickness in the center. You might feel the seed as you cut through the fruit, but just angle the knife blade around the seed, cutting as close as you can.
Take the seed and cut away the outer edges of mango, then cut the mango cheeks into roughly one 1 slices, and then pass the knife blade between the skin and the fruit, slicing the skin away as closely as possible.
I’ve never tried a mango peeler before, and I think it looks ridiculous. Does this contraption work? If someone knows, let me know. Here is the price of a mango peeler on Amazon.
Once mango fruit begins to ripen, it has a very short shelf life, but it freezes very well, so eat all you wish, and freeze the rest for later. One of our favorite dishes to make with frozen mango is a refreshing mango lassi, which is basically a mango smoothie.
Ingredients for a Mango Smoothie
2 cups frozen MANGO
1 cup plain YOGURT
MILK as needed
and sprinkle of ground CARDAMOM
How to Make a Mango Smoothie
Do you call it a mango smoothie or mango lassi? Is there a difference? You can use fresh chopped mango, but frozen mango makes a lassi more like a chilly milkshake. Add the chopped mango and yogurt into a blender, then add ½ cup of milk and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, then just add more milk, if it is too thin, add more mango.
If the mango smoothie isn’t sweet enough, then add a little honey, or other sweet fruit. Frozen banana also makes a nice sweet additive. If the smoothie is too sweet, you can balance it out with a squeeze of lemon juice.
A traditional mango lassi is topped with ground cardamom, and a sprinkling on top is all you need. Sweet ripe mango is perfect for a smoothie, so give this mango smoothie recipe a try, but if you’ve got unripe mango hanging around, then a mango pie might be in your future.
How to make a Mango Pie
INGREDIENTS:
1 frozen deep dish PIE CRUST
Pie Filling:
3 ½ cups UNRIPE* MANGO sliced
1 Tbsp LIME JUICE
1 ¼ cup SUGAR
½ tsp GROUND NUTMEG 1 tsp CINNAMON
1 tsp fresh GINGER grated
2 Tbsp FLOUR
Crumble Topping:
½ cup chilled BUTTER
⅔ cup SUGAR
1 cup ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
DIRECTIONS:
To make the pie filling, cut the unripe mango into slices and then toss with the lime juice in a bowl. Mix together the other filling ingredients and then combine with the mango/lime and toss everything together well.
Place this mixture into the pre-thawed pie shell.
To make the crumble topping, grate the chilled butter into a bowl and then add in the sugar and flour. Use your fingers, a fork, or a pastry blender to mix and cut the ingredients together into crumbly pea-sized shapes, and then sprinkle this mixture evenly over the top of the pie filling.
Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 45-55 minutes or until the crumb topping and crust are golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven and place on a rack and allow time to cool before slicing.
Give these mango recipes a try and let us know what you think. And for another fantastic fruit recipe, try this very French take on a Baked Pears Recipe.
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–Chef Buck
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