In this Instructable it is time to learn all about the mango. I will tell you where they come from, what the health benefits are, how to eat them, and describe what they taste like. This is one of my favorite fruits!

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Follow the easy steps below, watch the video tutorial, or do both!

Supplies

You will need:

Mangoes
Knife
Cutting board
Peeler, optional

Step 1: Where Mangoes Come From

The mango is one amazing fruit. It originated in India and has long since been cultivated and grown all over the world in tropical and subtropical regions. They even grow well in the United States, places like Florida, Hawaii, Southern California, Arizona, and Texas.

I actually have a couple of mango trees growing in my parent's yard in Arizona. For the past two years, we have gotten delicious fruit from one of the trees. The other tree is still too young to produce fruit.

NOTE: If you want to try growing them, the temperature during the winter can't go below 30F (-1C). Mangoes are not very cold-tolerant.

Step 2: Health Benefits

The mango has many health benefits some of which are listed in the above image.

Step 3: How to Cut and Eat a Mango

First to tell if the mango is ripe it will be a little soft when pressed on the skin. The skin for lots of varieties of mangoes will need to change from green to orange, yellow, red, etc. Some other varieties will still be green on the outside even though they are ripe.

Mangoes will ripen off the vine. Most exported mangoes will be picked green, so they have 2 to 3 weeks for shipping, even still store-bought mangoes will most likely need to sit on the counter for a week before it is ripe.

There are several ways to eat a mango, I am going to show a couple of common ways to eat them.

First, place the stem fat end on the cutting board. If you need to cut a piece off so it sits flat. The mango will be sturdier that way. Then find the center of the mango and go about 1/4 inch from the center slice down. This will cut off the cheeks of the mango. If you hit the seed, just move the knife out a little more and slice it down.

Step 4: Cubes or Slices

Now take your knife and slice down the inside, but don't go all the way through the skin. Then slice again in the other direction creating cubes. Press underneath the mango to pop open the cubes. You can cut those cubes of mango with the knife or scoop them off with a spoon or just eat them.

Another way would be instead of doing the cubes, just slice the mango cheeks into long slices. Then you can pick those up and eat them.

Another common way is to use a peeler first and peel all the skin off, then cut the mango cheeks off, and then slice them into cubes or leave them as wedges.

TIP: Use a paper towel to grip the mango if it gets slippery.

When I am down in Mexico I always buy a couple of mangoes. They prepare them like a flower and place them on a stick. So awesome!