You have bought mangoes for the first time. She started to unpack them and realized that he didn’t know much about this fruit. How long do mangoes last?
If that’s your experience, don’t worry. Mangoes are quite similar to other tropical fruits, such as avocados or papayas. If you know a thing or two about either one, everything below will look familiar.
If not, there is not problem. In this article, I cover everything you need to know about the mango fruit.so once you’re done, you’ll know exactly what to do with yours.
To begin with, let’s discuss the differences between ripe and immature mango. You need to know which is which before we can continue.
How to know if the mango is ripe?
To know where to put your mangoes, you first need to know if yours are ripe or not.
So, how to tell if a mango is ripe? There are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Feel. Feeling is what you should focus on. The handle should be smoother, but not mushy. In other words, the fruit should give a little to gentle pressure.
- Color. The fruit should be mostly yellow to red (like the one I photographed for this article). There should not be any dark green color, although some greenish or yellowish parts may be present.
- Smell. Sometimes the stem gives off a fruity odor, indicating that the mango is ready to eat. However, mine didn’t smell much and the fruit was perfectly fine.
When assessing ripeness, you must first consider how the fruit feels in your hand. If it feels right, but the color isn’t quite there yet, consider it ripe anyway.
How long do mangoes last?
Now that you know if your mangoes are ripe, we can take a look at their shelf life.
For a green mango, the time it takes to mature can range from one day to seven days. It all depends on the fruit. One that is uniformly green and firm to the touch will take much longer to mature than one that is already yellowish and somewhat soft in some areas.
When it comes to ripe mangoes, they should last at least 5 days in the fridge ((MR)). Obviously, he might get another day or two if his wasn’t fully ripe before he put it in the fridge.
If you have some mango cubes or slices, they should also last a couple of days in the fridge ((MR)). Of course, the whole fruit lasts longer than the peeled and cut pieces.
If those periods are not long enough for your needs, you can freeze mangos for up to six months ((MR)). You’ve probably seen frozen mango in freezers at supermarkets, and there’s no reason you couldn’t make it yourself.
| Room temperature | Fridge | |
|---|---|---|
| immature mango | 1-7 days until ripe | |
| ripe mango | 2-3 days | 5 days |
| cut mango | 3-4 days |
Please note that the periods in the table above are estimates only.
How to store mangoes
You already have a couple of suggestions on how to store mango in the previous section. Let’s expand that.
When it comes to store green mangoes, a paper bag at room temperature is the way to go ((MR)). Of course, the fruit can also be placed on the counter or in a fruit basket. Just make sure it’s not in direct sunlight.
If you need to speed up the ripening of the fruit, then such a paper bag will come in handy. It will help trap the ethylene gas that the fruit produces, which aids the ripening process.
To speed things up even more, place a tomato or avocado inside that bag for even more ethylene ((CMR)). You can also add an apple or a banana, or any other fruit or vegetable that produces gas.
Last but not least, check the ripeness of the mangoes every day or two.
For a ripe mango, the fridge is the best option. That’s because mangoes continue to ripen at room temperature ((MR)), which shortens their shelf life. Whole fruit can be stored in the refrigerator without any additional packaging.
When it comes to sliced mango, put the pieces in an airtight container and toss it in the fridge. Easy as that.
How to know if a mango is bad?
Knowing if a handle is damaged or not is not a science. All the signs are pretty clear. Here are some of the most common:
- Pasty meat. A ripe mango is a bit soft to the touch, but it is far from soft. If yours has made it this far, it’s probably best to discard it. The same if there are large sunken spots.
- oozing liquid. That mango is gone, throw it away.
- Large black areas on the skin. If the fruit starts to turn black, it’s pretty evident that it’s overripe and not good. Keep in mind that a couple of black dots here and there are fine. Mine had several, and the flesh of the fruit was perfectly fine. Just look at the photo below.
- Mold. This is pretty obvious.
Last but not least, if you feel that something is wrong with the fruit, that it tastes or smells funny, throw it away. Your senses are pretty good at determining if a fruit is edible or not. Listen to them!
How to cut mangoes
Cutting and preparing a mango is, in essence, finding the hole and cutting around it.
The bone is the white part inside the fruit. You can see it in one of the photos above.
It is not like an avocado pit or the seeds of an apple. It is a little fused with the rest of the meat, and removing it is not so easy. Basically, you cut off as much of the soft meat as you can and leave the rest.
When it comes to ways to cut the mango, there are several options. Some of the most popular are:
- Peel and cut into slices. Peel the whole fruit, then slice lengthwise down to the bone. Repeat the same from the other side.
- First cut out the middle part. Take the fruit and slice lengthwise about a half inch (depending on the fruit) from the center on both sides. The middle part is the hole. Take a teaspoon and eat the meat of the two halves ((CMC)). You can also try removing a bit of the middle piece, if possible.
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