Preparation, uses and tips

Mangos are perfect eaten raw, but they should always be peeled, as the skin is very acidic. After peeling, use a sharp knife to cut the flesh away from the large, flat, oval-shaped stone in the center. Eat as-is, or top with yogurt or mix into breakfast cereal. Pieces can be frozen, made into juice, marmalade, compote, or puréed into sauces. Chutney is prepared from unripe, green mangos. Dried mangos are also available in the dried-fruit section of many markets.

Buying and storing tips

Choose semisoft fruit with uniformly smooth skin. A couple of black spots are acceptable as these indicate a very ripe mango (the riper ones are sweeter). Mangos with green areas will ripen at room temperature, although completely green fruit may not. Look for fruit grown in the United States, as imported mangos are often irradiated or sprayed with chemicals banned in the United States. After they are fully ripe, mangos keep a few days in the refrigerator.

Varieties

There are over a thousand varieties of mangos that vary in shape from round to pear-shaped to narrow and oval, and that can weigh up to 4 pounds. Mangos sold in markets are usually not differentiated by variety, but are generally 4 to 5 inches in length and weigh about 8 ounces. One exception is the Manila mango; these are a smaller, golden-yellow variety that are now appearing in markets.

Nutrition Highlights

Mango, 1 cup (sliced)
Calories: 107
Protein: 1g
Carbohydrate: 28g
Total Fat: 0g
Fiber: 3g
*Excellent source of: Vitamin A (1,262.25IU), and Vitamin C(45.71mg)
*Good source of: Vitamin B6 (0.22mg)

*Foods that are an “excellent source” of a particular nutrient provide 20% or more of the Recommended Daily Value. Foods that are a “good source” of a particular nutrient provide between 10 and 20% of the Recommended Daily Value.

The information presented in the Food Guide is for informational purposes only and was created by a team of US–registered dietitians and food experts. Consult your doctor, practitioner, and/or pharmacist for any health problem and before using any supplements, making dietary changes, or before making any changes in prescribed medications. Information expires June 2009.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 3:17 pm and is filed under Healthy Updates Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.