In need of mango advice please. Last weekend I bought a box of mangoes at Costco.....

B

barbara-in-va

Well-known member
As I would like to make some chutney. They were green and hard. Today they are still green but are now soft. Does this mean they are ripe or do I need to wait until the color changes too? How do you tell when a mango is ripe?

Thank you!

 
Some varieties are green, even when ripe. Do they have a

fruity smell? Best way to tell is cut into one and taste it. You don't want them too soft where they're mushy, just a little give especially at the stem end. I've only used the slightly under-ripe in chutney, but haven't made it often, there may be recipes using ripe ones.

 
But you are not storing them in the frig are you? Sorry if it's too basic a

question but you didn't say. They ripen generally, top of frig is a good spot. If you feel them and they begin to soften a bit the way an avocado does, they should be good.

 
Hi all, left them out at room temp to ripen. They do seem to be softening like an avacado...

so, I think I will peel one and try it and make some chutney! Hopefully it won't be too ripe.........

Thank you all for sharing your knowledge!

 
May I offer a tip for cutting the mangoes easier?

Hold the mango stem side up and slice down next to the huge seed on both sides. Take each of the pieces you sliced off, put them cut side up and score them both ways. Then bend them "backwards" so it is "inside out" and you get sort of a modified porcupine effect with the pieces of fruit sticking out. Take your knife and quickly slice them off. Easier in my mind then peeling the mango. You need to trim around the seed to get the excess fruit off too.

If you are not really familiar with mangos, the skin can be really irritating to some people. So, eating the fruit directly off the skin (I mean picking it up and eating it like you would watermelon) might not be a great idea. The skin is the cause of many allergic reactions. Not the fruit meat, the skin.

 
First batch of chutney is done. I filled the jars and put them in the water bath THEN tasted...

a bit of what was left in the pan. It is a little vinegar-y but very good otherwise. Will the vinegar flavor calm down after the chutney sits a while? Do I need to correct this for the next batch, i.e. less vinegar or more sugar?

 
What's your recipe? Mine has a good bit of garlic and ginger in it

so it has a nice spicy flavor.

 
Glad it helped. Mine has been setting 3 months but I'm going to wait>>>

a little longer. We'll have to compare results huh? Hope yours turns out great!

 
I understood it wa sap that's the culprit. Where the stem connects to the tree, a clear sap can....

drizzle onto the skin. The mango is in the same family as poison oak/ivy, so if you're sensitive to those, you may also be sensitive to the sap.

The problem is...mangos are all piled up at the stores and the sap from one can get on the skin of others, so please be careful.

I--having gone through Eyes Swollen Shut (my Native American name) too many times--have learned to put my hand INSIDE of a plastic bag, then pick up the mangos and put them inside of another bag. Then I wear cheapie plastic gloves to cut them just the way Cathy suggests.

 
Gretchen, the recipe I used has cinnamon, preserved stem ginger, hot pepper,

and I added some cloves and allspice I read in another recipe. However the recipe I used had 1C sugar to 1 1/2C vinegar. I researched several other recipes and saw that the sugar and vinegar is often equal. So, in the second batch I upped the sugar to match the vinegar. It did help some but I think I will also let it sit on the self a while before opening! Keeping my fingers crossed.......

 
Mango chutney--tried and true.Can use peaches or pineapple also

2 TBS salt
7C sliced fresh fruit (peaches, mango, pineapple)
3C sugar
1 1/2C cider vinegar
2 large cloves garlic
1C chopped onions
2-4 TBS grated fresh ginger
3/4C limejuice
1C golden raisins

Add salt to a quart ofwater. Pour over peaches and let stand overnight. Drain
Mix 1/4C water , sugar, vinegar, and garlic. Bring to a boil. Add peaches and cook until clear--about 45minutes. Remove peaches. Add onions, spices, lime juice and raisins to syrup. Cook until thickened. Add peaches and ginger. Bring to a boil. Ladle into hot sterilized jars and process to seal.

 
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