How to select Sweet Ripe Mango

Summers are here, which also marks the arrival of King of Fruits, Mango. Because of its enormous popularity it is known as King of Fruits. There are many ways to add Mango in your diet during the season. Choosing a ripe Mango can be difficult in many situations.

I was surprised when I first heard about Mango Whisperers. Mango Whisperer is a person in Indian household who's main responsibility is hand-select the mangoes for his or her household. The person must be able to differentiate between the different varieties of mango, know when a ripe mango is ready to be eaten, and identify the ones which can be used to make chutney.

In my house one such person didn't exist and in that case, shopping for and choosing mangoes can be overwhelming. You might end up with a mango that’s impossible to cut, overly stringy, or outrageously sour; Mangoes don’t reveal all their characteristics with a casual inspection. Available in so many colors, variants, aromas, and flavors, you may be confused about which ones to take home. So it's advisable that you arm yourself with enough information before buying.

Be it an country in world best variety of this fruit can be found at any Indian or Asian outlet. I've lived across Europe, Australia, India and South East India. The best quality is available with Indian sellers. Redrickshaw and GoodOFood is my go to place whenever I have to buy mangoes in UK.

Trust your Nose: Smell

This is the most important tell for when a mango is ready to eat—it will get very fragrant and ooze sap without prodding. For the most part, regardless of texture or color, if a mango is filling the room with fragrance and also sapping, it's ready to eat.

In many cases the fruity aroma is at their stems. You must check near the stem end, the smell should be stronger there. 

Exception: Ataulfo, variety is a specific which will not turn fragrant or sappy even when it is fully ripe. In such scenario you need to look for its skin, it will get wrinkly.

Touch and Feel it: Texture

This is quiet simple, ripe mangoes the first stage of ripening involves getting nice and soft—think the same feel as a ripe Avocado (LOL, getting a perfect Avocado is even difficult). Use your fingertips to gently squeeze and feel around the whole mango. Ripe mangoes are faintly soft, but they should not be squashy that your fingers go right through. However, if you are someone like me who does not have time and plans to store mangoes for a whole week, then you can choose those with slightly firmer skin.

Eyes Don't Lie: Appearance and Colour

We eat with our eyes before a thing goes in mouth, Mangoes should be a visual treat. Try to look for plump and fleshy ones, with minimal marks or spots. Never ever go for fruits with shriveled skin. Mangoes with some black spots on the skin of Mango then it indicates that the fruit is already ripe. And if the skin is wrinkled that means, the mango is harvested early and might be sour.

Colors or shades of mangoes do not matter much. This fruit comes in a myriad of hues, ranging from red, golden yellow, green to saffron and orange.

Exception: Tommy Atkins, a variety that does not change its colour and is used for making pickle, galka etc

Know your vendor

Very often local retailers use carbide to ripen their fruits. You could thus go mango shopping on reputed e-commerce marketplaces or trusted fruit vendors that source fresh, organic, and naturally ripened mangoes directly from orchards all over India. Be it Alphonso from Ratnagiri, or any other. The finest quality is available at your local store or online. Look for certifications and awards, if any, of the sellers and their mangoes. And for countries other than India, look for Indian or Asian Stores.

Some more points to be kept in mind

• A ripe fruit will be slightly heavier than an unripe one. Therefore, if you feel that the mango is heavier than be careful, it is an indication of its ripeness.

• Always avoid mangoes that are too hard as it will take a long time for them to ripe.

• Don’t choose the mangoes that have a sour or alcoholic smell. 

• Leave the mangoes in cool room temperature till their flesh is yielding.

What to do in case you brought an unripe Mango?

If you bought Mangoes following the above mentioned steps then at this stage, the Mangoes are ready to eat immediately, though you can keep it in the fridge for up to 4-5 five (after that it’ll start to lose flavor and become more difficult to cut).

With some experience I can tell that finding perfectly ripe Mangoes at most British Farmer's markets is also tricky. To speed up the ripening of less-than-ready Mangoes at home, wrap each mango with newspaper or cover them with a dry towel at room temperature. It will be ready to eat in 2-3 days depending upon its condition.

Now that you know how to get the perfect Mango then Go and Experience the King of fruits this summer.