How To Cut A Mango—The Safe Way
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Some fruits and veggies can be tricky when it comes to prep, think avocado, spaghetti squash, pineapple, and mango. Naturally, of all the fruits for my picky daughter to love, it had to be mangoes! With their thick skin, slippery flesh, and awkward pits, ripe mangoes are a hassle (and a bit dangerous) to peel and cut. But there’s a safe and easy way to do it. All you need is a cutting board and a sharp knife. (And remember, you’re much more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than a sharp one.)
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Step-By-Step Instructions
Wash the mango under running water, then lay the mango on your cutting board. Holding the mango securely on the cutting board, cut a sliver off of the stem end/the top of the mango. Don’t cut in very far or you’ll hit the pit.
Rotate the mango around and cut a small slice off the opposite end.
Stand the mango on one flat side you’ve created. Slice off the peel from top to bottom, avoiding the edible flesh too much.
Continue cutting around the outside of the mango until you’ve removed all the peel.
There is an oblong pit that runs through the center of the mango. The mango flesh on either side of the pit is often referred to as the cheeks. Holding the mango in place with one hand, use the other to cut the cheeks off each side of the pit.
If you’re finding the cut mango pieces too slippery to hold, use a paper towel to hold them in place.
Lay the center slice (that contains the pit) on your cutting board and slice off the remaining flesh from either side of the pit.
Dispose of the pit and cut the 2 cheeks of the fruit into 3 to 4 parallel slices. Holding the slices together with your hand, rotate them ninety degrees and make crosswise cuts to make chunks.
Place the mango cubes in an airtight container and store in the fridge. They’re wonderful for mango smoothies, as a topping for a poke bowl or overnight oats, or as a quick snack or healthy dessert.
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I’m from Hawai’i and we love mango season! I’ve never seen anyone peel a mango. We cut off the cheeks on either side of the pit. Then holding the cheek in our palm, score the flesh into cubes, being careful not to cut too deeply lest you cut yourself. Using a large spoon, scoop out the cubed flesh.
Leaning over a sink, suck on the pit and let the juices run down your chin. Mango, Hawai’i style.
Dat’s da only way sistah!
I cut 2 sides off the mango, then peel it by sliding a glass under the peel. It’s a breeze to cut the halves into cubes. We have duralex picardie glasses at home, and they work great. It’s a tip that I got from Jamie Oliver.
Love your recipes! Thank you!!
Thanks for practical procedures and excellent recipes!
I usually use regular peelers and they work fine on harder mangos. For softer ones I use the tomato peelers. Very wick and less waste!
I also learned to cut the mango with the skin in. Then make parallel cuts in the flesh, both longitudinally and transverse, without cutting the skin. Then remove the cubes with a spoon.
Hope you find them easy too.
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Why a knife and not a vegetable peeler?
I find it much easier to peel the mango with a vegetable peeler, much less apt to cut yourself and you won’t cut out wanted fruit with the peel.
I find that sometimes when I use a vegetable peeler, that the flesh right underneath the skin can get kind of mealy and difficult to peel.
Easiest way to skin a mango – turn mango up so pit is facing horitzontal with cutting board. Next with a sharp knife, cut down each side of the mango using the seed as a guide for a close cut. Using a thick short drinking glass, grab each mango half, cut side facing into the glass, slowly push mango down on glass rim, using exterior skin as a guide, and watch entire mango half fall into glass and you are done. Once you get this down takes but a few seconds to have all the fresh mango you need vs cutting with a knife.
I peel the mango… faster and less mango on the skin.
It’s easier to eat around the skin than go through all that!
Just saw an episode of Good Eats. Alton recommended using a corn on the cob holder pushed into the seed to grip a mango instead of a paper towel! (Haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t attest to the ease of the technique, but thought it was a clever idea!)
Or, buy the frozen organic chunks from Trader Joe’s. They can eaten like a popsicle, used in smoothies or added to fruit salad. Thaw quickly.
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Judy
I cut the same way but with the peel on. It’s not slippery then and you can easily dice/cube it right in the skin then push the skin up in the middle. All the cubes will be exposed and you can
carefully slice all the cubes off the peel.
Got it Sandy. That’s how lots of people in mango growing countries do it. It’s also the way you can eat a mango out of hand.
FYI
The culprit behind the poison ivy rash is a chemical called urushiol, which lurks not only on the plant’s leaves, but also in its stems, roots, flowers, and berries. What you may not know is that this same chemical is also contained in the skin of the mango fruit, plus the bark and leaves of the mango tree. If you get a reaction from poison ivy or its cousins, poison oak and poison sumac, you may find yourself with an itchy, blistering, swollen lip after eating mango straight off the peel.
Thanks for this. I often eat the peel when I eat mango. Was’t sure why I didn’t see that mentioned.
Once upon a time, in a previous life, I managed a tourist outfit in one of the Pacific islands. On one of our boats we had a first mate who was well over 2 meters tall and built like a large wardrobe. He had an appetite like five horses and one of his favourite tricks of entertainment for our tourists was, to stand on the bridge, cut both ends of a ripe Mango, then put the whole mango into his oversized mouth, make some grunting and sucking noises and then spit the peel, still containing the pip from the bridge overboard. His nick name was Gluttoh!!!!