Living in Cleveland, I’m not about to find locally-grown mangoes. But when they’re in season in Mexico the grocery store has them, and they’re cheaper than the Florida oranges. So I might as well learn how to prep them, right?
Mangoes have a large, flat pit that can’t be removed like a peach pit. You have to cut around it. Start from the stem end and cut straight down about a half-inch from the stem, parallel to the seam in the skin.
Do the same on the other side.
You can see I got a little too close to the pit here.
With a paring knife, cut through the flesh, but not the skin, in a checkerboard pattern.
Then scoop out the flesh with a spoon.
UPDATE: Mike mentioned down in the comments that it’s easier to turn the skin inside-out and cut off the protruding chunks. So I tried it. He was right.
You should have an empty skin left.
Because I hate wasting food, I next cut the skin off the piece with the pit in it, then trim along the pit at an angle from both sides.
(You barely get anything this way, so it’s probably not worth it.)
And that’s it.
Stay tuned for how I used this …
