FOOD USES

Mangos should always be washed to remove any sap residue, before handling. Some seedling mangos are so fibrous that they cannot be sliced; instead, they are massaged, the stem-end is cut off, and the juice squeezed from the fruit into the mouth. Non-fibrous mangos may be cut in half to the stone, the two halves twisted in opposite directions to free the stone which is then removed, and the halves served for eating as appetizers or dessert. Or the two "cheeks" may be cut off, following the contour of the stone, for similar use; then the remaining side "fingers" of flesh are cut off for use in fruit cups, etc.
Most people enjoy eating the residual flesh from the seed and this is done most neatly by piercing the stem-end of the seed with the long central tine of a mango fork, commonly sold in Mexico, and holding the seed upright like a lollypop. Small mangos can be peeled and mounted on the fork and eaten in the same manner. If the fruit is slightly fibrous especially near the stone, it is best to peel and slice the flesh and serve it as dessert, in fruit salad, on dry cereal, or in gelatin or custards, or on ice cream. The ripe flesh may be spiced and preserved in jars. Surplus ripe mangos are peeled, sliced and canned in sirup, or made into jam, marmalade, jelly or nectar. The extracted pulpy juice of fibrous types is used for making mango halva and mango leather. Sometimes corn flour and tamarind seed jellose are mixed in. Mango juice may be spray-dried and powdered and used in infant and invalid foods, or reconstituted and drunk as a beverage. The dried juice, blended with wheat flour has been made into "cereal" flakes, A dehydrated mango custard powder has also been developed in India, especially for use in baby foods.
Ripe mangos may be frozen whole or peeled, sliced and packed in sugar (1 part sugar to 10 parts mango by weight) and quick-frozen in moisture-proof containers. The diced flesh of ripe mangos, bathed in sweetened or unsweetened lime juice, to prevent discoloration, can be quick-frozen, as can sweetened ripe or green mango puree. Immature mangos are often blown down by spring winds. Half-ripe or green mangos are peeled and sliced as filling for pie, used for jelly, or made into sauce which, with added milk and egg whites, can be converted into mango sherbet. Green mangos are peeled, sliced, parboiled, then combined with sugar, salt, various spices and cooked, sometimes with raisins or other fruits, to make chutney; or they may be salted, sun-dried and kept for use in chutney and pickles. Thin slices, seasoned with turmeric, are dried, and sometimes powdered, and used to impart an acid flavor to chutneys, vegetables and soup. Green or ripe mangos may be used to make relish.

In Thailand, green-skinned mangos of a class called "keo", with sweet, nearly fiberless flesh and very commonly grown and inexpensive on the market, are soaked whole for 15 days in salted water before peeling, slicing and serving with sugar.
Processing of mangos for export is of great importance in Hawaii in view of the restrictions on exporting the fresh fruits. Hawaiian technologists have developed methods for steam- and lye-peeling, also devices for removing peel from unpeeled fruits in the preparation of nectar. Choice of suitable cultivars is an essential factor in processing mangos for different purposes.
The Food Research Institute of the Canada Department of Agriculture has developed methods of preserving ripe or green mango slices by osmotic dehydration,
The fresh kernel of the mango seed (stone) constitutes 13% of the weight of the fruit, 55% to 65% of the weight of the stone. The kernel is a major by-product of the mango-processing industry. In times of food scarcity in India, the kernels are roasted or boiled and eaten. After soaking to dispel the astringency (tannins), the kernels are dried and ground to flour which is mixed with wheat or rice flour to make bread and it is also used in puddings.
The fat extracted from the kernel is white, solid like cocoa butter and tallow, edible, and has been proposed as a substitute for cocoa butter in chocolate.
The peel constitutes 20% to 25% of the total weight of the fruit. Researchers in India have shown that the peel can be utilized as a source of pectin. Average yield on a dry-weight basis is 13%.
Immature mango leaves are cooked and eaten in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Food Value Per 100 g of Ripe Mango Flesh*
Fruit
Calories - 62.1-63.7
Moisture - 78.9-82.8 g
Protein - 0.36-0.40 g
Fat - 0.30-0.53 g
Carbohydrates - 16.20-17.18 g
Fiber - 0.85-1.06 g
Ash - 0.34-0.52 g
Calcium - 6.1-12.8 mg
Phosphorus - 5.5-17.9 mg
Iron - 0.20-0.63 mg
Vitamin A (carotene) - 0.135-1.872 mg
Thiamine - 0.020-0.073 mg
Riboflavin - 0.025-0.068 mg
Niacin - 0.025-0.707 mg
Ascorbic Acid - 7.8-172.0 mg
Tryptophan - 3-6 mg
Methionine - 4 mg
Lysine - 32-37 mg
*Minimum and maximum levels of food constituents derived from various analyses made in Cuba, Central America, Africa and India.
Puerto Rican analyses of 30 cultivars showed b-carotene as ranging from a low of 4,171 I.U./100 g in 'Stringless Peach' to a high of 7,900 I.U. in 'Carrie'. Ascorbic acid ranged from 3.43 mg/100 g in 'Keitt' to 62.96 in 'Julie'.
Seed Kernel**
Moisture - 10.55-11.35%
Protein - 4.76-8.5%
Fat - 6-15%
Starch - 40-72%
Sugar - 1.07%
Fiber - 1.17-2.6%
Ash - 1.72-3.66%
Silica - 0.41%
Iron - 0.03%
Calcium - 0.11-0.23%
Magnesium - 0.34%
Phosphorus - 0.21-0.66%
Sodium - 0.28%
Potassium - 1.31%
Sulfur - 0.23%
Carbonate - 0.09%
**According to analyses made in India and Cuba.
Indian analyses of the mango kernel reveal the amino acids–alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, cystine, glutamic acid, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tyrosine, valine, at levels lower than in wheat and gluten. Tannin content may be 0.12-0.18% or much higher in certain cultivars.
Kernel Flour*
Protein - 5.56%
Fat - 16.17%
Carbohydrates - 69.2%
Ash (minerals) - 0.35%
*It is said to be equal to rice in food value, if tannin-free.
Kernel Fat
Fully saturated glycerides - 14.2%
Mono-oleoglycerides - 24.2%
Di-oleoglycerides - 60.8%
Tri-unsaturated glycerides - 0.8%
Fatty Acids:
Mysristic - 0.69%
Palmitic - 4.4-8.83%
Stearic - 33.96-47.8%
Arachidic - 2.7-6.74%
Oleic - 38.2-49.78%
Linoleic - 4.4-5.4%
Linolenic - 0.5%
Leaves (immature)
Moisture - 78.2%
Protein - 3.0%
Fat - 0.4%
Carbohydrates - 16.5%
Fiber - 1.6%
Ash - 1.9%
Calcium - 29 mg/100 g
Phosphorus - 72 mg
Iron - 6.2 mg
Vitamin A (carotene) ß - 1,490 I.U.
Thiamine - 0.04 mg
Riboflavin - 0.06 mg
Niacin - 2.2 mg
Ascorbic Acid** - 53 mg/100g
**According to various analyses made in India.