Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Salvage the fleshy, edible and tasty bits of fruit from the tough pit in the center. (Don’t worry, it’s much easier than it sounds.)

The ripe stuff. Start with a ripe mango. Sniff around -- it should smell sweet. And try giving it a squeeze -- it should give a bit. Not ripe yet? Stick it in a paper bag at room temperature to speed up the process.

The shape of things. Mangoes are oblong and look as though they’ve been flattened on one side. The shape of the pit is similar.

Cut it out. Grab a cutting board and a knife, and separate the good bits from the bad bits. Here’s how:
• Slice it. Begin by holding the mango on its side so that the thinner edge touches the cutting board and the flatter, broader sides are facing your right and left sides. Not at the center of the mango, but directly to the right or left of the center, make your first cut -- straight down. Flip the mango around and make the same cut on the opposite side, so that you’re left with three pieces. Take the piece containing the pit and lay it flat on the cutting board. Cut away the good bit of mango from around the pit and dice into pieces. Then remove the skin.
• Dice it. With each of the remaining two pieces, cup the mango in your hand so that the skin is touching your palm. Gently cut parallel slices down the length of the mango (but not so deep as to cut yourself). Then turn the mango 90 degrees and repeat, so that you’ve cut a checkered pattern into the fruit.
• Scoop it out. Take a spoon and scoop the fruit away from the skin. As long as the fruit is ripe, it will dislodge itself easily, falling onto your cutting board in perfect mango chunks!

-- Paula Kashtan