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Mangoes Are a Delicious Summertime Treat

The Tropical Fruit Can Be Used in Salads, Desserts, and Main Dishes

May 10, 2009 Suzanne Pitner

During spring and summer, mangoes are available in the stores. The sweet, orange flesh of a mango tastes wonderful in salads, shakes, smoothies, salsas, and meat dishes.

Delicious, juicy, mangoes are a treat to be enjoyed all summer long. The fruit tastes wonderful in dishes ranging from meats, to salads, to desserts, and even grilled on the barbecue.

Mangoes come in shapes from oval to round, and they are often a bit larger than an avocado. They have a large, thin pit inside them. They are shipped before they are ripe, so the mangoes in the stores are usually still green. They may have red, pink, or orange tinges on them.

Mangoes first become available as early as January. June is the peak season for mangoes, and they may be available as late as August. Later in the season the mangoes become sweeter.

Choosing and Storing Mangoes

Choose fruit that is unblemished and that has no soft spots. Green mangoes are fine to purchase, however, if the skin has a grayish tinge to it, the fruit may not ripen properly. If the mango isn’t yet ripe, it can ripen in a paper bag on a counter. It may also be ripened uncovered at room temperature.

When the mango is ripe, it will be evenly soft to the touch. It will have a rich, fruity fragrance, and it may have black speckles. Once ripe, it should be stored in the refrigerator crisper.

Cutting and Coring a Mango

There are two ways to cut and core a mango.

Use a mango splitter, a handy tool that cores the fruit. Slice off the peel, then cut up the fruit as desired.
The other way is to cut along the core with a serrated knife. Score the fruit lengthwise in four places. Pull off the peel, then slice down the side of the pit.

The fruit is extremely juicy, so a cutting board with a grooved edge can be helpful in catching the juice. The benefit of using a mango splitter is that the fruit may be cored while the peel is still on. This makes it easier to handle, as the fruit is very slippery without the peel.

How to Use Mangoes

Mangoes are very versatile. They are delicious when chopped and mixed into green salads and fruit salads. Tropical Mango Yogurt Smoothies are a cool blender shake made with pineapple, orange, yogurt, and mango. There are many recipes available for mango salsas and chicken dishes with mango.

Mangoes may also be eaten raw in the same way as a peach or papaya would be eaten. They are delicious grilled as well. Enjoying seasonal fruits such as mangoes can be a delicious part of a healthful diet.

The copyright of the article Mangoes Are a Delicious Summertime Treat in Seasonal Cooking is owned by Suzanne Pitner. Permission to republish Mangoes Are a Delicious Summertime Treat in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Mangoes