How to tell if a mango is ripe

Mango is a fruit that is loved by many people. When mangoes are ripe and available in large quantities, everyone will buy a lot of mangoes to eat. Mangoes are sweet, juicy and have a delicate texture. Mangoes can not only be eaten directly, but also squeezed into juice or made into many delicacies. No matter how they are prepared, they are delicious. When buying mangoes, you should look at the appearance, color and aroma of the mango to determine whether the mango is ripe.

1. Look at the shape.

For most varieties of mango, round or football-shaped ones are better than flat ones.

2. Look at the fruit stem.

The flesh and skin around the fruit stem should be bulging and relatively round.

Before a mango is ripe, the stem will become quite flat on one end. The pulp, juices and sugars inside are not yet fully ripe. Once the mango has finished growing and is ripe, the flesh should be plump and the stem should be slightly raised rather than flat.

Note: Don’t just look at the color.

The red color usually only shows how much sunlight the mango has received, not its freshness. Moreover, different varieties of mangoes have different colors when ripe. You shouldn't rely solely on color to determine whether a mango is ripe.

3. Judge by smell

Your sense of taste and smell are closely linked, and the smell of something greatly affects how it tastes. Smell the area around the fruit stem to see if there is any fragrance. If there is a strong fruity aroma, you will immediately think of the sweet taste of mango. Mangoes with this sweet and fruity aroma are usually ripe.

Note: Mangoes are very high in sugar compared to other fruits, and when mangoes start to go bad, the pulp starts to ferment and smell sour and alcoholic. Don't eat this kind of mango anymore.

4. Gently rub the peel with your fingertips

Gently rub your fingertips over the surface of the mango. The skin of ripe mangoes often has some cracks. However, it is important to note that the absence of cracks does not necessarily mean that the mango is raw. If the lines are deep and cover a large portion of the surface of the mango, the mango is likely overripe.

5. Weigh it

Pick up the mango in your hands and feel its weight. A ripe mango will feel heavier for its size and will be heavier than an unripe mango. If you need a more accurate weight indicator, compare this mango, which is probably ripe, to a mango you know is raw. A raw mango should feel noticeably lighter than this one if it were ripe, especially if they are the same size and variety. If the two weights are too close, then the second mango is probably raw.