The mango is a tropical fruit that was found originally in Southeast Asia, and is very popular around the world. There are over 100 different types of mangoes, and they usually consist of yellow, orange and red skin, fleshy fruit and a long flat seed. The shape and consistency of the seed can make it a challenge to cut a mango, but there are several ways to extract the seed from the fruit.
One of the more simple ways to cut a mango is to use a mango splitter, also known as a mango slicer. This device is made specifically to cut around the long flat seed of the mango. This is done in the same way as an apple slicer by positioning the utensil over the fruit and then pushing down with both hands. In the process, the seed is separated from the fruit of the mango while splitting it in half. The advantage of the mango slicer is that it is designed to cut as closely around the seed as possible.
However, if you don’t have one of these handy devices, you may create quite a mess when you attempt to cut a mango if you are not careful. When you cut a mango simply with a knife, it can be a challenge because the seed is not readily visible like a peach pit, and you cannot see where the seed ends and the fruit begins. To make things trickier, mangoes can be quite slippery when you are trying to work with them, requiring caution when handling a sharp knife.
When you cut a mango with a knife, you should begin by standing the mango up and determining the orientation of the flat seed. Now you should be able to slice the mango down along the flat side of the seed, and then do the same thing on the other side so that three pieces remain, a center with the seed and two halves. Once this is done, take one of the mango halves and crosscut it into a “checker board” pattern, and then repeat this with the other side, being careful not to cut the mango skin.
At this point you can either simply pull the mango pieces away from the skin or use the knife to cut away the skin from the mango cubes. You can also cut away more fruit from the seed on the center portion of the mango, throw away the seed, and enjoy the sweet and unique fruit. You can also find many uses for the mango pieces in many recipes for different food and fruit drinks.