How to Clean a Mango

Co-authored by Andrea Lawson Gray

Last Updated: July 9, 2024

Mangos are a delicious tropical fruit that require a bit of effort to eat. Like most fruits, you will need to wash your mango thoroughly before you eat it. Once it is clean, figure out where its large pit lies inside the mango. Use a knife to cut around it and slice up the mango flesh you carved off into pieces. Finally, remove the mangos thick, inedible skin and enjoy the sweet fruit.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Washing Your Mango

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1
Hold the mango under cool running tap water. Make sure the entire surface is rinsed. You only need to rinse the mango for a few seconds since you will not be eating the peel.^{[1]
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- If you are preparing several mangos, you can save time washing them by putting them all in a large pot or bowl and filling it with cool water.
2
Rub away any dirt and debris with your hands or a fruit brush. If your mango has dirty spots after you have rinsed it, you should scrape it off as best as you can. In most cases, you will be able to rub away any grime. If the mango is especially dirty, lightly scrubbing the mango skin with a fruit brush should clean it up.^{[2]
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- Mangos bruise easily, so do not apply a lot of pressure with your hands or brush when you are cleaning it.
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3
Set your mango aside so that it can dry. The mango will be easier to slice if its skin has dried. Mangos can get very slippery when you start to cut them open, so having the outside of the fruit dried will help you hold onto the mango. It could also prevent the knife from slipping.
- If you don’t want to wait for your mango to air dry, put it on a towel.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Slicing Your Mango

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1
Hold the mango vertically for the best cut. Hold the mango on a cutting board so that it is longer vertically than it is horizontally. Mangos have a large, solid pit in the middle, and this will help you guess where it is before you make your first cut.
- If you are having trouble determining where the pit might be, stick you knife into the mango and test where there is resistance.
2
Slice the mango in half down its vertical center until you hit the pit. Starting at the tallest point of the mango, slice the fruit in half from top to bottom. You knife should come in contact with the widest edges of the pit.^{[3]
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- You might find it easier to slice one side of the mango from top to bottom, and then do the same for the other side.
3
Cut around the the mango pit to separate it from the fruit. Keep the mango standing vertically and work your knife around the pit of the mango. Try to keep the knife as close to the pit as you can in order to get the most fruit. You will end up with two large halves of the mango and the pit.
- Be careful and don’t apply too much force with your knife. This is when the mango and your knife will be very slippery and you don’t want to risk cutting yourself.
This will make the mango easier to hold and make much less of a mess. You can cut up the mango any way you want, but it is often sliced into long strips from top to bottom. Alternatively, you can cut the mango into cubes by making a grid pattern with your knife in the mango flesh.^{[4]
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5
Peel the skin off your mango. Hold the mango with its skin against the palm of your hand. Then wedge a spoon between the fruit’s flesh and the skin. Use the spoon to scoop out the flesh onto a plate or bowl.^{[5]
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- You can also use the lip of a drinking class to scoop out the mango flesh.

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If you find yourself peeling a lot of mangos, you might want to purchase a mango splitter. This handy tool has a blade shaped to cut around the mango pit on both sides at once.^{[6]
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