How to Cut a Mango

Mangoes are my favorite summer fruit for salads and cocktails. Today I hope to show you how to peel a mango and how to cut a mango in the easiest way possible.

My kids are officially out of school for summer. That means sleeping in a little (for all of us), swimming, trips to the berry patch, backyard fort building, and frozen treats by the fistful.

There are 3 chilly treats my kids beg me to make on almost a daily basis all summer long.

• Hawaiian Shaved Ice (We have one of those little electric shavers.)
• Juice Pops
• And Fresh Fruit Smoothies

Of the three, I always feel best about making them smoothies because they have less sugar and I can throw in a scoop of protein powder and a handful of spinach when no one is looking.

Mangoes are a staple fruit for smoothie-making in our household because they have a smooth creamy texture that helps thicken the smoothies, and are tangy-sweet.

Yet, I’ve noticed most people massacre a mango when they try to cut it. Let me show you a couple easy ways how to peel a mango and how to cut a mango. Hopefully this will make your summer smoothie-making a little neater.

Step 1, Visualize the Pit. Mangoes have a large flat pit, the shape of a sunflower seed, that runs from tip to tip. Imagining the pit on the inside of the mango, helps identify where to cut.

Step 2, Cut the flesh off both sides of the pit. Cut straight down from tip to tip, running the blade along the flat surface of the pit.

Step 3, Scoop or Score. Like cutting an avocado, you can either run the blade closely around the inside of the mango peel to scoop the whole fleshy mound out, or score the mango in a crosshatch pattern and turn the peel inside-out. The latter works best for cutting small even chunks.

Then use edge of your knife to scrape off each chunk.

If using the blade to scoop out the flesh, place the blade close to the edge of the peel. Carefully turn the mango half in your hand, pressing the knife further into the mango, until the tip of the knife spirals down to the bottom.

Then remove the peel and lay the flat side down and slice.

You can then cut the small chunks off the pit, or let one of the kids snack on it. You’d be amazed at how long they will suck on a mango pit to get every last bit of tangy sweetness.

And when I say “kids” I really mean myself.

Simple, right?

I’ve got one more thing to show you. Look at this handy-dandy OXO Mango Splitter I found. Learning how to cut a mango is simple, but this makes it even easier.

If you’re a gadget girl or guy, this one’s pretty cool.

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