Dear Mango: 

Mangos are a tough fruit to crack!  People shy away from them because they seem too difficult to use and/or open. If you cut down the middle, you run into the pit, and they don’t twist open like avocados do.  Some people peel them, but then you’re left with the flesh that, if really ripe, can fall apart and become mush in your hands while you’re trying to cut it.  Don’t’ let them scare you!  They are easily manageable, and one of my favorite fruits because they can be so versatile. 

Try this.  Leaving the skin on, take a paring knife and slice as close to the middle as possible, without running into the pit.  If sliced from the pit correctly, you should have 4 nice slices to work with.  Then take a sliced piece, and score it with a knife, meaning run a pairing knife length-wise 3 or 4 times through the flesh, then run the knife cross-wise 6 or 7 times, so you have little diced cubes that are attached to the skin.

Then take both ends of the skin and push it out, like you’re trying to invert it.  This will make the diced cubes of flesh pop out, so you can run your knife under them and they fall right off.  

With the diced mango, you can make a lovely mango salsa, mango smoothie, or mango salad.  All three favorites of mine!

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!