Let’s Mango

The mango is the most popular fruit in the world and can be used in everything from smoothies to desserts and marinades.

Mangoes pack a nutritional punch with more than 20 different vitamins and minerals — 100 percent of your daily vitamin C — but only 100 calories in a 1-cup serving.

Hy-Vee Dietitian Janine Albers has a few tips if you’re looking to try the mango for the first time.

• Don’t choose a mango by its color, as a ripe mango could be green, yellow, red or a combination of all three.
• You’ll know if a mango is ripe by squeezing it gently. A ripe mango will give slightly. A firm mango will ripen at room temperature over a few days. Speed up the process by placing it in a paper bag at room temperature.

Mangoes can be intimidating to cut because they have one long flat seed in the middle. Here’s how to dice a mango:

• Put the mango on a cutting board stem-end down and hold. Cut downward with a knife about 1/2 inch from the widest part. Flip the mango around and repeat on the other side.
• Cut parallel slices into the mango flesh but be careful not to cut through the skin. Turn the mango cheek and cut another set of parallel slices to make a checkerboard pattern.
• Slice the mango slices off the skin using a large spoon.

Here’s a recipe to put your new mango skills to use. It would pair well with fish.