How to Eat Mangoes

Sweet, juicy mangoes, with a large pit and inedible skin, can be difficult to eat, but there are several methods for cutting them.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Groceries
• Paring Knives
• Napkins

To eat from the skin

1. Slice about 1/2-inch from the top and bottom of an unpeeled mango, then stand it up. A little bit of the pit will be exposed. Slice from top to bottom, parallel the pit and as close to it as possible. You will now have one large mango slice, with the skin still on.

2. Turn the mango over and cut off the other side, close to the pit.

3. Holding a mango half in your hand, skin side down, use a paring knife to make a crosshatched grid of slices. Be careful not to cut all the way through the mango's skin.

4. Turn the fruit section inside out and eat the mango cubes straight from the skin.

5. Peel the remaining band of flesh from the pit, and eat it right off the pit, or slice it off.

To eat in a civilized fashion

1. Using a vegetable peeler or pairing knife, peel the mango.

2. Slice about 1/2-inch from the top and bottom, then stand it up. A little bit of the pit will be exposed. Slice from top to bottom, parallel the pit and as close to it as possible. Repeat on the other side.

3. Place a mango half flat on a cutting board. Hold a chef's knife parallel to the cutting board and slice the mango into about three planks, each about 1/2-inch thick.

4. Holding a chef's knife perpendicular to the cutting board, slice the stacked mango planks lengthwise into 1/2-inch strips.

5. Rotate the stacked mango strips 90 degrees and slice them into 1/2-inch cubes.

6. Serve the mango cubes in a bowl, sprinkled with lime juice or add them to a tropical fruit salad.

Tips & Warnings

• Eating the fruit whole, although messy, is the easiest way to eat a mango.

• Squirt a little lemon or lime juice over mango slices to enhance their flavor.

• Add slices of mango to fruit, meat and vegetable salads.

• Puree mangos to use as a sauce for meats, or as a dessert sauce over cakes or other fruits. Mangoes are also great in smoothies.