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How To Cut A Mango, The Safe Way

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Bowl of whole mangos.

Of all the many fruits for my finicky daughter to love best, it would have to be mangoes. With their thick skin, slippery flesh, and awkward pits, mangoes are a hassle (not to mention a little dangerous) to peel and cut. Learn how to cut a mango (the safe way) below.

To begin, you’ll need a cutting board and a sharp knife. (Remember, you’re much more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife than a sharp one.) Wash the mango under running water, then lay the mango on your cutting board.

How to Cut a mango, the safe way

To start, holding the mango securely on the cutting board, cut a sliver off the stem end. Don’t cut in very far or you’ll hit the pit.

cutting end off mango

Rotate the mango around and cut a small slice off the opposite end.

cutting off opposite end

Stand the mango on one of the flat surfaces you’ve created. Slice off the peel from top to bottom, avoiding the edible flesh too much.

slicing peel off mango

Continue cutting around the outside of the mango until you’ve removed all the peel.

removing remainder of peel

There is an oblong pit that runs through the center of the mango. The flesh on either side of the pit is often referred to as the cheeks. Holding the mango in place with one hand, use the other to cut the cheeks off each side of the pit.

cutting one mango cheek off

If you’re finding the mango too slippery to hold, use a paper towel to hold it in place.

cutting other mango cheek off

Lay the center slice (that contains the pit) on your cutting board and slice off the remaining flesh from either side of the pit.

cutting off remaining flesh

Dispose of the pit and cut the 2 cheeks of the fruit into 3 to 4 parallel slices. Holding the slices together with your hand, rotate them ninety degrees and slice again to make chunks.

cutting flesh into chunks

Enjoy!

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Comments

  • Easier way is to cut the sides without peeling the skin. Then cut thru the fruit in both directions like when scoring a piece of meat. Use a spoon to scoop out the pieces.

    • — Jean on July 15, 2023
    • Reply
  • Sorry, with all due respect. .. No, no, no. It’s a waste of mango to see you peel like this. A peeler is much more efficiet and less wasteful as long as you take your time to peel carefully. Sorry, this isn’t one I’ll be using.

  • Yeah, sorry…this is a subpar way to peel and cut mangoes. The cheek slicing and scoring method is safer and quicker. Do more research next time!

  • I’m from Hawai’i and we love mango season! I’ve never seen anyone peel a mango. We cut off the cheeks on either side of the pit. Then holding the cheek in our palm, score the flesh into cubes, being careful not to cut too deeply lest you cut yourself. Using a large spoon, scoop out the cubed flesh.
    Leaning over a sink, suck on the pit and let the juices run down your chin. Mango, Hawai’i style.

    • Dat’s da only way sistah!

  • I cut 2 sides off the mango, then peel it by sliding a glass under the peel. It’s a breeze to cut the halves into cubes. We have duralex picardie glasses at home, and they work great. It’s a tip that I got from Jamie Oliver.

    Love your recipes! Thank you!!

    • Thanks for practical procedures and excellent recipes!
      I usually use regular peelers and they work fine on harder mangos. For softer ones I use the tomato peelers. Very wick and less waste!
      I also learned to cut the mango with the skin in. Then make parallel cuts in the flesh, both longitudinally and transverse, without cutting the skin. Then remove the cubes with a spoon.
      Hope you find them easy too.

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  • Why a knife and not a vegetable peeler?
    I find it much easier to peel the mango with a vegetable peeler, much less apt to cut yourself and you won’t cut out wanted fruit with the peel.

    • I find that sometimes when I use a vegetable peeler, that the flesh right underneath the skin can get kind of mealy and difficult to peel.

  • Easiest way to skin a mango – turn mango up so pit is facing horitzontal with cutting board. Next with a sharp knife, cut down each side of the mango using the seed as a guide for a close cut. Using a thick short drinking glass, grab each mango half, cut side facing into the glass, slowly push mango down on glass rim, using exterior skin as a guide, and watch entire mango half fall into glass and you are done. Once you get this down takes but a few seconds to have all the fresh mango you need vs cutting with a knife.

    • I peel the mango… faster and less mango on the skin.

  • It’s easier to eat around the skin than go through all that!

  • Just saw an episode of Good Eats. Alton recommended using a corn on the cob holder pushed into the seed to grip a mango instead of a paper towel! (Haven’t tried it yet, so I can’t attest to the ease of the technique, but thought it was a clever idea!)

    • — Stephanie Voth
    • Reply
  • Or, buy the frozen organic chunks from Trader Joe’s. They can eaten like a popsicle, used in smoothies or added to fruit salad. Thaw quickly.

  • Hi, I love your recipes, pictures and quality writing.
    Question: Would it be possible to give us micro-wave recipes ?
    Thanks for your attention,
    Judy

  • I cut the same way but with the peel on. It’s not slippery then and you can easily dice/cube it right in the skin then push the skin up in the middle. All the cubes will be exposed and you can
    carefully slice all the cubes off the peel.

    • Got it Sandy. That’s how lots of people in mango growing countries do it. It’s also the way you can eat a mango out of hand.

      • FYI
        The culprit behind the poison ivy rash is a chemical called urushiol, which lurks not only on the plant’s leaves, but also in its stems, roots, flowers, and berries. What you may not know is that this same chemical is also contained in the skin of the mango fruit, plus the bark and leaves of the mango tree. If you get a reaction from poison ivy or its cousins, poison oak and poison sumac, you may find yourself with an itchy, blistering, swollen lip after eating mango straight off the peel.

        • Thanks for this. I often eat the peel when I eat mango. Was’t sure why I didn’t see that mentioned.

          • Once upon a time, in a previous life, I managed a tourist outfit in one of the Pacific islands. On one of our boats we had a first mate who was well over 2 meters tall and built like a large wardrobe. He had an appetite like five horses and one of his favourite tricks of entertainment for our tourists was, to stand on the bridge, cut both ends of a ripe Mango, then put the whole mango into his oversized mouth, make some grunting and sucking noises and then spit the peel, still containing the pip from the bridge overboard. His nick name was Gluttoh!!!!

            • — Uncle Gerhard

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