It’s Mango season and this week’s meal plan was filled with this tasty fruit!  Are you confused on how to pick, store or cut your mango?  Do you end up paying more money for the precut selection in the store?

I was the same way!!! But have since learned quite a few tricks; and, as always, I want to share them with you!!!

Soooo, let’s chat a little about the mango, shall we?

PICKING & STORING YOUR MANGO

1. Pick up a mango and gently squeeze it. A ripe mango will give slightly (think peaches or avocados).

2. Smell the mango at the stem; ripe mangoes generally have a fragrant, sweet, and fruity aroma. (If the aroma is sour, then it’s likely a sign of being overripe.)

3. If you pick a very firm mango, leave it on the counter at room temperature for a couple of days to allow it to ripen. (If it’s especially hot, keep a closer eye on it—ripening can be accelerated by heat.)

4. Super eager to enjoy your mango? Place it in a paper bag overnight with another piece of fruit that emits high levels of ethylene gas, like an apple.

5. Your mango’s ripe, but you’re not ready? No problem. Put it in the refrigerator for up to a few days to maintain its state of beauty. (Just as the heat speeds up the repining process, the cold will slow it.
   

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HOW TO CUT YOUR MANGO

I remember having the HARDEST time cutting a mango!!  That was until I realized how big the seed was and that the key to cutting a mango is to cut around its oblong shape.  Here’s how I cut my mango! 

1. I peel it first with my swivel peeler (click here)
   
2. Once completely peeled, I look for stem and hold the mango with stem facing me.  Mangoes are oblong shaped as well. I make sure to hold the mango up on it’s edge.
    
3. Once on it’s edge, I know to cut to the right and the left of the stem, as the seed is oblong shaped and is right down the middle of the mango from stem to end.  By the way I am using my pairing knife.
   
4. Now I repeat on the other side the same cut; but on the other side of the stem.
      
5. Now you have a flat mango, and there’still plenty fruit left to cut.
   
6. So, next I hold the fruit on top of it’s stem and begin to cut along the other sides of the seed on both sides.
      
7. I continue to cut all around the seed.  Soon, you can see more of the oblong shape of the mango’s seed. 
      
8. I toss the seed and the stem and use the fresh delicious fruit to make a meal. Like this yummy fruit bow made with fresh mango, peaches, coconut flakes, and almond slivers. YUMMMMY!

There you have it divas!  That’s how I cut my fresh mangoes!  It took me one or two tries to really master mango cutting, but now I’m a pro.  I’m sharing so you can be too! 

Feel free to share this post with a friend.  Mangoes need love too! LOL!!

Live fabulously divas!

Coach Twy

I’m Nicole Twyman, a native New Orleanian, who has lived all across the US! Although, my small family of 4 currently calls Los Angeles, CA home. I am a proud 40+ year old mom of a wonderfully energetic and theatrical daughter, and a handsome, scholarly athlete!

While I have worked in corporate America as a certified senior project / program / portfolio manager for Fortune 500 companies like Microsoft, Procter & Gamble & IBM, my passion is service. It has always been my desire to live a life of service to others; which I took every opportunity to explore as an active member of many of my church’s ministries and of my public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, Inc.

Well, now I am over the top excited to have the opportunity to serve divas through my very own ministry, Fit, Fyne & Fabulous.