Learning how to cut a mango is easy, and essential if you want to get the most out of this incredibly delicious, tropical fruit!
Mangoes are one of the most delicious fruits available, and they can't be cut and sliced the way most fruits can be because the pit is flat, and almost as wide as the fruit.
About Mangoes
- Mangoes originated in India over 4,000 years ago and are considered to be a sacred fruit.
- According to Melissa's Produce, mangoes are the number one most popular fruit in the world.
- In the United States, they're approximately number thirteen.
- There are many varieties of mangoes including Ataulfo or Honey (pictured below), Keitt, Haden, Francis, Kent, Tommy Atkins, and Palmer. These are just a handful of many more. Each type of mango has a unique flavor and texture.
- Some people liken the general flavor of mangoes to a cross between pineapples and oranges, with a hint of peach. Sometimes they're a bit tart and they're almost always sweet and fragrant with floral notes.
Why is it tricky to cut a mango?
Mangoes have a big, flat pit in the center, which means they need to be cut differently than many other fruits with round pits.
There's nothing quite like a perfect (and perfectly prepared) mango!
How to Cut a Mango
- Hold the mango in place and cut just off the center line, lengthwise, where this pit is. Imagine the side surface of your knife almost brushing the side of the pit.
- Repeat this process on the mango’s other side. 
- To cut the mango into slices, use a paring knife to make lengthwise cuts into the mango flesh — touching the inside of the skin, but not cutting through it.
- To dice the mango, use a paring knife to make lengthwise cuts into the mango flesh, — touching the inside of the skin, but not cutting through it. Then make the same size slices horizontally — again, not cutting through the skin.
- Use a large metal spoon to gently scoop out the sliced or diced mango.
- You can make the dice any size you like, and if you don’t scoop the fruit with a spoon, you can almost turn the skin inside out for this pretty presentation.
- To get the mango flesh from around the pit, lay the center piece flat, and use a paring knife to cut the fruit off the pit, towards the edges.
Of course, you can also just bite the fruit off of the pit.
A few delicious recipes with mangoes:
- Mango Avocado Chipotle Salsa
- Pesto Mango Avocado Stack
- Chipotle Mango Quesadilla
- Baked Coconut Mango Chicken
How to Cut a Mango
Learning how to cut a mango is easy, and essential if you want to get the most out of this incredibly delicious, tropical fruit!
- paring knife
- 1 whole mango
-
Hold the mango in place on a cutting board, and cut just off the center line, lengthwise. (Remember, the pit is flat. It’s a similar in shape to the mango.) Imagine the side surface of your knife almost brushing the side of the pit.
Repeat this process on the mango’s other side. You’ll have two halves, and a flat center portion of the mango that includes the pit.
-
To cut the mango into slices, use a paring knife to make lengthwise cuts into the mango flesh — touching the inside of the skin, but not cutting through it.
-
To dice the mango, use a paring knife to make lengthwise cuts into the mango flesh, — touching the inside of the skin, but not cutting through it. Then make the same size slices horizontally — again, not cutting through the skin.
Use a large metal spoon to gently scoop out the sliced or diced mango.
-
You can make the dice any size you like, and if you don’t scoop the fruit with a spoon, you can almost turn the skin inside out for this pretty presentation.
-
To get the mango flesh from around the pit, lay the center piece flat, and use a paring knife to cut the fruit off the pit, towards the edges.
Calorie count is only an estimate.
MImi Avocado
Love your photos! AND love those mangoes!
valentina
Mimi, Avocados are next! 😉
Geez Louise!
perfect, I'm going to link to it in this weeks recipes that are going out.
Happy Wednesday!
valentina
thank you, Louise!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
It is such a nightmare for me to cut a mango so this tutorial is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!
valentina
Chung-Ah -- so happy this is helpful to you! Thanks for your comment!
sippitysup
You for got to say "Tah-dah" at the end! GREG
Jenny
eating around the pit is the only way to go! great little tutorial...
marla
A great post + one I very much needed as I have 3 ripe mangoes to slice tomorrow 🙂
Blanca
Oh Lady you have me cracking up! I wasn't expecting the bitten mango at the end. That's exactly how we eat mangos at our house =) Yum!