How to pick a good mango at a local store?

Question

Simply just like the title says. I LOVE mango. But the thing is I don't know how to pick a good one at the local store. I read some tips somewhere from Googling (long time ago, I don't remember its exact url) said to smell it, but I'm not sure what smell should the good mango have? My family and I often must wait for our mangoes in the fridge for more than 5 days just to make sure that they're ready to serve.

Advice? Help? Thanks!

Answer 1

I look for a few things...

1. Colour: There are many different varieties of mangos. Some go from green to red, some end up Orange, some start off yellow and end up orange. So once you're familiar with the type of mango you're buying, you can get an idea of what a ripe one looks like.
2. Smell: A ripe mango will smell sweet. Check near the stem end, the smell should be stronger there. You should smell it and think "mango". Smell is a large part of your taste, so it should be very familiar.
3. Firmness: Mangos, like peaches will soften as they ripen. Just as it starts to go from firm to soft, it is just about ripe.
4. Weight: With most fruit you can tell their ripeness by their weight. A riper fruit will be slightly heavier than an unripe one.

As an aside, if you're at a grocery store, and you see a few different types of mangos, look for these Ataulfo mangos: http://goo.gl/IeEZ4. They're my personal favourite. The flavour is richer, and they are a lot less stringy.

Finally, DO NOT refrigerate if you want them to ripen.

More info on the Ataulfo mangos. (There is also some generic mango info there)

Answer 2

Mangos are tricky to pick ripe from the supermarket. Not knowing, I used to assume firm was the way to go, but it was often not ripe enough. So I picked only mangos which were soft, though those are often too ripe or bruised.

I determined that the best mangos are those that are neither too firm nor too soft. Of course that's a largely subjective answer, but I suppose that means that it comes with experience. Though in the case of doubt, better that they are more firm than soft, since you can always let it sit to ripen on its own.

Answer 3

In the fridge? Keep the mangos out of the fridge and they'll ripen faster, and taste better. The smell should remind you of a delicious mango. :) (No other way to describe it, really)