Yay! It’s champagne mango season. I love it when is see these shapely, golden beauties in the market. They are also known as honey, yellow or Ataulfo mangos. The flavor is tangy and exotically sweet, the texture is creamy and buttery smooth and the color is like walking on sunshine. I especially love them cubed and mixed with blueberries and topped with sliced almonds, feta and a swirl of maple syrup in my morning breakfast bowl {details below}.
But some people shy away from these flavorful beauties because they don’t know how to cut them into cubes, but it is SO easy, I’ll show you how. First of all, a soft mango is a ripe mango. To speed up the ripening process you can store them in a paper bag with a banana!} Don’t worry if there are a few marks or scars on the skin, this is common.
Use a small, sharp knife to cut through the skin, then skim the knife along one side of the long, thin pit in the center.
Do the same on the other side to produce two “cheeks”. You can nibble any fruit off of the pit if you like and then discard it.
Use the tip of the knife to cut diagonal lines along the fruit of the cheek, cutting just to the skin, do not cut through the skin.
Then cut diagonal lines in the other direction to make a cross cross pattern.
Next, gently push the skin side of the cheeks to invert it….
And voila! Perfect juicy, little cubes appear.
Cut them into a bowl and you are ready for a tasty, nutritional breakfast. Did you know mangos are high in Vitamin C, so they help to boost your immunities; they help create a healthy gut; clear skin and their fiberous texture makes you feel full longer, so you eat less.
To make my favorite breakfast bowl mix the cubes with blueberries.
Top the fruit with crumbled earthy, salty feta cheese.
Sprinkle crunchy, roasted almond slices over the feta.
Top the nuts with a favorite herb, here I added it with basil chiffonade {tarragon, thyme, parsley are other good choices} a drizzle of maple syrup is a splendid finishing touch.
The season usually runs from March to August, so get out there and find some Champagne Mangos to enjoy soon!
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