Mangoes are a popular fruit, but not all of them are sweet and tasty. If you don’t know how to choose wisely, you might end up with sour, unripe, or even spoiled fruits. So, when buying mangoes, keep these four things in mind to ensure you select the best ones.

1. Check the Color

When choosing a mango to eat or for religious offerings, pay attention to its color. Typically, you’ll see mangoes of the same variety displaying different shades of green and yellow. This is because mangoes are tropical fruits that need to be picked and transported before they are fully ripe. If they were allowed to ripen completely, they would quickly bruise and spoil during transportation to different places.

So, if you observe a mango with more green hues, it’s likely unripe. On the other hand, a mango with a dull yellow color has probably been sitting around for too long, and it’s best to avoid it. Ripe mangoes have a bright yellow color, with shiny and smooth skin. Especially when choosing a mango for religious offerings, go for the ones with the brightest yellow color.

2. Examine the Skin

Fresh, ripe mangoes will usually have a few small black spots on their skin, which doesn’t affect the quality of the flesh inside. However, if you see a mango with many black spots and a rough texture, it’s best to avoid it. Such mangoes may have degraded flesh due to prolonged storage.

If you’re buying mangoes for religious offerings, choose the ones with bright yellow skin and no black spots.

3. Smell the Mango

When selecting mangoes, use your sense of smell. Delicious mangoes have a strong, sweet aroma, with a hint of gentle sweetness. On the other hand, unripe mangoes or those ripened with chemicals will have little to no scent or may even have an odd smell. Spoiled mangoes will definitely have an unpleasant odor, so avoid those.

4. Test for Firmness

When choosing a mango, first feel it with your hand to check for firmness. Mangoes that are too hard or too soft are not ideal. These mangoes are either unripe or overripe. To enjoy the sweetest and most nutritious mango, or if you’re buying it for religious offerings, opt for a slightly soft, ripe mango. With these mangoes, you won’t have to wait a few days after the offering to enjoy a delicious treat.

Frequently asked questions

Selecting a mango can be tricky, but there are a few key things to look out for. Color is important, a mango with a golden yellow base color is ripe and ready to eat. A mango with a green base color will need a few more days to ripen. Smell is also a good indicator, a ripe mango will have a fragrant, sweet aroma. Lastly, gently squeeze the mango, if it has a slight give, it’s ripe. If it’s rock hard, it’s not ready yet.

If your mango is still a little hard, the best way to ripen it is to leave it at room temperature, stem-end down. Avoid direct sunlight. Placing the mango in a paper bag with an apple or banana will also help speed up the ripening process due to the ethylene gas these fruits emit.

An overripe mango will be very soft to the touch and may have some dark spots. The flesh will be very juicy and may have begun to spoil. An overripe mango is still safe to eat if there is no mold present, but it is best to use it immediately in a recipe that calls for puréed mango, such as a smoothie or sorbet.

To store an unripe mango, keep it at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. A ripe mango can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cut mango should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will last for about 3 days.

The stringy texture in mangoes is caused by the presence of fibers that run through the fruit. This is more common in unripe mangoes. To avoid this, make sure you are choosing ripe mangoes and allowing them to soften fully before eating. Mangoes with a higher fiber content are also more likely to have a stringy texture.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR