Andrew Rea Has The Perfect Tip For Cutting Mangoes
According to US News, healthy food choices like fruit are generally supposed to reduce our stress levels. But despite any food's high levels of antioxidants and other essential vitamins, some can cause a major headache in one department. Thick-skinned citrus fruits and other varieties embedded with thick seeds are notorious for being difficult to peel. Pomegranates and coconuts are part of that category, per Fox News, and so is the deliciously yellow-hued mango.
Lucky for all of us fruit fanatics, Chef Andrew Rea has the knowledge to overcome any fruit-cutting obstacle in our way. According to his site Binging With Babish, Rea has made a living off of sharing his passion for cooking on his YouTube channel for millions of fans. So since the chef has a plethora of knowledge in the culinary department, (from crafting feasts inspired by his favorite films like "Spirited Away" to staple comfort foods like broccoli cheddar soup), he's learned a whole lot about dealing with mangoes over the years.
What you need to know about your mango
Mangoes are one of the most commonly eaten fruits in the world per Live Eat Learn, but many people still haven't even attempted to go at them with a knife and a cutting board, opting for pre-sliced options instead. So other than how to slice your mango, what else don't you know about it? Well, the first thing to note is that this stone fruit grows exclusively in tropical climates and takes about four months to grow on trees, via Mango.org. There are six common varieties of mango, and with the wide range of species, they are technically in season all year round.
If you want to pick up one of the many varieties at the store, it's important to remember to ignore color and use your sense of smell and touch instead to check ripeness instead. Per Mango.org, a ripe mango will squish slightly under your touch (much like avocado) and also smell sweet. Now you've reached the eating stage and have come to one of the most complex things about a mango. How exactly are you supposed to cut it?
How to perfectly cut a mango
As many mango lovers already know, the fruit holds a large seed in its center that makes slicing it for a snack harder than it needs to be. If only mangoes didn't taste so good, we wouldn't have to go through all the trouble. Well lucky for us all, Rea has a technique to help you cut up a mango like a pro so you'll stress a little less and eat a little more of it.
As Rea shared with Wired, a mango is cut in stages, via YouTube. Starting with a clean, sharp knife and a cutting board, Rea suggests that you cut two thin slices of mango off around each side of the pit first. After you've made those cuts, score each of the pieces of mango you've just cut off, being careful not to pierce the skin. After scoring, you can easily chop off cubes of the scored mango to enjoy.
As Rea described, what makes a mango different from most other fruits is that you can't easily remove the pit from the middle, so unless you carefully scrape the meat off around the seed, you'll have to expect some waste while cutting it yourself.