How to Eat a Mango

What's the Best Way to Cut & Eat a Mango?

Love the taste of mangoes, but think cutting them up is a pain? Follow these tips for easy eating.

Of course, we all know how to eat a mango (step one: open mouth...), but how do you cut one so you actually enjoy the whole experience? The fruit inside of a mango is delicious, but getting to it can sometimes pose a problem, owing to the large seed or flat oval pit in the middle.

There is a technique to locate the seed before you cut into the fruit, and with that problem solved, there are several ways you can then choose to cut it up. But first, make sure you start with the best mango you can find.

Finding the Best Mango

Unlike many other fruits, the color of the skin isn't necessarily an indication of how ripe a mango is. Mangoes come in a range of skin colors—including yellow, peach, red, and orange—and many good ones contain some green skin, too. Test if the mango is ripe by pressing the skin slightly with your thumb. There should be just a little give, but not a squish. If it's rock hard to the touch, it's not ready to eat.

Show vs. Tell

Some of the techniques below are difficult to describe in words, so here's a helpful video (it covers more than how to cut a mango):

Finding the Stone

To find the pit or seed of the mango, stand the mango on its side. Slice through the mango, leaving about a 1/4-1/2 inch gap from the stem. Repeat on the other side to get two mango "cheeks."

Cutting a Mango Into Slices

To create mango slices, cut fingers into your mango cheeks. Hold the cheek in your hand (palm up, with the skin side down and flesh side up) and slice through the flesh lengthwise. Be careful not to cut through the mango skin! With your mango cheek in one hand and a large spoon in the other, scoop out the fleshy fingers. To cut down on waste, you can make two further slices into the piece of mango housing the stone. Simply cut a slice around each side of the stone.

Cutting a Mango Into Cubes

Perhaps the coolest way to cut a mango is by making a mini mango porcupine. Cut the cheeks off the mango as above, and again cut the mango down (but not through) to the skin, making fingers. Now rotate the mango around 90 degrees, and make cuts across it in the same way, so you have a square pattern.

Press the skin from underneath to essentially turn the cheek inside out, and you have your diced pieces. It can look attractive served this way, or you can complete the task by cutting the chunks out. This is easy, as the pieces are now standing proudly away from the skin.

Cheat? Moi?

Still looking for an easier way to cut that mango? For the gadgety guys and gals amongst us, there is something you can buy called a mango splitter that does the whole job at once. Simply hold the cutting gadget at the top of the mango and push it down through the flesh.

It cuts around the stone in a curved fashion, so there is minimum waste. Whether you should invest in one depends on how often you eat mango. Or if you classify using one as cheating!