By using your 5 senses, check by appearance, check by smell, check by touch, you can give a pretty accurate evaluation of whether a mango is ripe, if you know what to look for. Let’s use the Tommy Atkins variety in our example as we walk through these six steps.
According to our chartthe Tommy Atkins variety should be green in color with red blush when it’s ripe. Look for the red blushing color to appear on your mango as it ripens. A plain green mango is not yet ripe.
Softness
A ripe mango is slightly soft to the touch when you press your thumb gently into it. If your mango is still firmthat means it’s not yet ripe.
Smell
A ripe mango smells fruity and somewhat like melon when it’s ripe. When it’s not yet ripethere is not much fragrance when you smell the mango.
The skin around the stem
If you notice the skin around the stem of your mango turning slightly yellowit’s likely that your mango is ripe. If the skin is still green, your mango is probably not yet ripe.
Stem oozes mango juice
Sometimes when your mango is ripeyou might notice a bit of mango juice oozing from the stem, however this is not always the case. If your mango’s stem isn’t oozing juice, but indicators one through four above are present, it’s likely that your mango is ripe. This indicator is not a vital one.
Shriveled skin around the stem
Another indicator that might be present as your mango begins to ripen is that the skin around the stem might begin to shrivel. Howeverthis indicator might or might not occur. If one through four above are present, then your mango is likely ripe.
Instructions
Use the above key indicators to tell if a mango is ripe.
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