Mango

In India, mangoes are considered both a symbol of love and the ultimate gift of friendship. How appropriate, since they're known for their singular sweetness, comforting qualities and protective nutrients.

With hundreds of kinds to choose from, finding a favorite, in theory, could be a delicious but daunting task. In fact, only four major mangoes--Tommy Atkins, Haden, Keitt and Kent--are really common. All four are similar in their exotic tastes (think peach meets pineapple) and are about the size of a large avocado, but they do have their differences.

Tommy Atkins and Haden mangoes both have what's referred to as fibrous flesh. This means their fruit is slightly pulpy--similar to an overripe plum. Tommy Atkins mangoes have orangered skin and a mild, sweet taste, while the Haden variety (the smallest of the four) has yellow-orange skin and is somewhat spicy. The Keitt and Kent varieties, by contrast, have non-fibrous flesh similar to that of a cantaloupe. Keitt mangoes--the largest of the four--have green skin and taste slightly lemony. Kent mangoes are rounder and have skin that's more orange. Their flavor is richly tropical.

Beyond their tantalizing taste, mangoes supply a bounty of nutrition benefits. An average-sized mango has only about 110 calories and less than 1 gram of fat. Yet it also supplies' 4 grams of fiber as well as a generous dose of vitamin A and decent amounts of C and potassium. Plus, mangoes may be a better comfort food than chocolate (sans guilt!) thanks to a stomach-soothing enzyme that helps aid digestion.

When shopping, don't rely on a mango's color to indicate ripeness. Instead, a ripe mango emits a fragrant aroma from the stem end. Its flesh will be slightly soft and yielding to the touch, like a perfect peach. Ripe mangoes can be stored for two to three days in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. Slightly underripe fruit can be ripened for the same amount of time in a paper bag on your counter. But hard, picked-too-soon mangoes will never ripen properly.

You can enjoy mangoes in a myriad of ways: fresh or dried; in salsas, marinades and chutneys; over chicken; and in frozen desserts and smoothies, to mention only a few. So give yourself the ultimate gift of love this summer, and make mangoes a part of your menu. You'll be happy and healthier because you did!

cooking school: how to cut a mango

We can chop our salads, pare our zucchinis and carve our Thanks-giving turkeys. So why do so many of us manage to mangle our mangoes when simply trying to cut them?

Take heart. Cutting a mango can be a challenge. Besides being so juicy, the flesh clings stubbornly to both the mango's sturdy skin and its large pit, (The skin, it should be noted, is potentially irritating to the mouth and not considered edible.)

While many recommend cutting the ends off a mango and standing it upright to remove the flesh, we prefer this technique: "Hold the mango between your palms to find the two flatter sides," says Thomas W. Griffiths, CMC, CHE, a professor at the Culinary Institute of America's Hyde Park, New York campus. "Then rest it on one of those sides." Hold the mango while gently gliding your knife horizontally across the length of the fruit from end to end, following the contour of the flat sides, which mimics the shape of the pit. (Make sure to move your knife away from you.) Do this on both sides so you end up with three sections. Pare the skin off the middle section and cut the flesh surrounding the pit into bite-sized pieces. Place the two remaining sections skin side down, and cut each section twice lengthwise. Finally, you'll end up with six strips of mango that you can easily slide your knife along to remove the fruit from the skin. "Hold the skin down with your fingertips," says Griffins. "The fruit will curl up as you're cutting, and the skin will stay flat."

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