mango

Mangoes grow in a variety of shapes (oblong, kidney and round) and sizes (from 6 ounces to 4 pounds). Their thin, tough, green skin turns yellow with red spots as it ripens. The flesh is a juicy, brilliant orange -- if you can carve it off the large flat seed. Green mango is the unripe fruit, which has many uses in the cuisines of India, Malaysia, and Thailand.

plural: mangoes

Ethnicity: India Ingredient

Season: May - September

How to select: Look for unblemished yellow skin blushed with red.

How to store: Place in a paper bag at room temperature to ripen; store in plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How to prepare: bake, poach, saute To cube a mango: (1) Slice the lengthwise, down either side of the stone; (2) core the flesh in a criss-cross pattern, making sure that you don't cut all the way through the skin; (3) Gently push the skin side so that the flesh pops up in a 'hedgehog' of neat cubes that you can either use as decoration, slice off and eat, or use in recipes.

Matches well with: almonds, blackberries, cloves, coconut, fish, chicken, duck, ginger, Kirsch, lemon, lime, papayas, passion fruit, pineapples, raspberries, rum, Sauternes, shellfish, star anise, habanero pepper sauces