Author Topic: The Best Time to Pick and Eat Each Variety of Mango  (Read 550 times)

palingkecil

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The Best Time to Pick and Eat Each Variety of Mango
« on: September 09, 2022, 02:54:59 AM »
Hello everyone,

Please share your experience on when is the best time to pick and to eat each variety of mango. It will certainly help us to know the timing so we can eat them at the peak of it's flavor.

I am new to mango growing, and have been reading almost everything in this forum to learn from all the gurus here.
Yesterday i just tried my first Kathy from my tree. It was really good, sweet, juicy, and fiberless, but lacked any complex flavor.
It certainly did not 'Wow' me. I picked it when it had about 30% yellow color and the nose already turned soft. Then I left it for about 4 days on the counter until it turned completely yellow before I ate it.
Did I leave it too long on the counter? Or did I pick it too early?

A week before I ate my Sweet Tart, and it was really delicious. It was not only very sweet and tart at the same time, but also had some very complex savory flavor to it. I picked the Sweet Tart a little early, and the color never turn completely yellow, but it was already soft when I ate it. Last year I picked it almost fully ripe, and it was just really sweet and really tart without that delicious savory flavor like this year.

This video from Sulcata Grove is very informative about when to pick and eat the Dot mango for the prime eating quality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBMJ1ehQLuw

And I just picked some Sugarloaf yesterday because it has some yellowish blush already, I would like to know how long I need to leave it on the counter before I can eat it for the best flavor.

Below are the pictures of my Kathy and Sugarloaf.







roblack

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Re: The Best Time to Pick and Eat Each Variety of Mango
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2022, 10:12:39 AM »
When it feels a little soft/has some give when you squeeze it, the fruit is likely ready. I will cut part of one side, and place the mango cut side down on a plate. If the slice is good, I eat the rest. If still sour or tough, I let the rest of the mango sit out and ripen some more, and try the next day.

johnb51

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Re: The Best Time to Pick and Eat Each Variety of Mango
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2022, 10:27:16 AM »
It's experimentation and trial and error, but also personal preference to some degree.  The gurus are Chris Wenzel, Alex Salazar, Har Mahdeem, and Gary Zill.  Rob has retired.  This forum was too hard on his blood pressure.
John

skhan

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Re: The Best Time to Pick and Eat Each Variety of Mango
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2022, 11:19:08 AM »
A lot of it is a preference for sure.
With these extra flavorful varieties, it takes some experience to know when to pick them and when to eat them
It gets even harder when they stay the same color the whole time.
Thats one of the reasons why it would be hard to commercialize a lot of these new ZHPP mangos.

For example
Sugarloaf was a newer one for me this year, i probably pick half my crop (5) too early and another 4 too late.
What i learned is that you need to pick it before you see any yellow on the nose.
I'm still learning when the best time to eat it, staying green all the time makes it hard to tell

Zinc and its relatives tend to be better when picked mature green however, they last a long time on the counter.
You can easily leave them there for too long and end up with a flat-tasting mango or even overripe.

Neelam is similar to the Zinc relatives in that you need to pick them mature green but its pretty forgiving if you pick it too early.

Cac is one of the easier ones, its hard to go wrong. I notice the fruits start to look a little dirty when its prime.
Its a commercial crop for a reason

All of the above are based off my trees in South Florida so yours maybe different.