Mangoes are seasonal, during this time, mango prices are very cheap and they can be found in many places. So what to do if you accidentally buy too many mangoes or love its taste and want to use it longer even though it’s out of season.
The best way is to freeze it in the freezer and use it next time. There are many ways to freeze mango, this article guides you to the 3 most convenient and easy ways. It also gives you information on how to defrost and what dishes can be made from frozen mangoes.
Is mango good for health?
Mango brings many health benefits, such as anticancer effects, improving the immunity and digestive systems. It is reach in minerals, antioxidants and vitamins like B-vitamins, vitamin A, C, E, and K.
In addition, it’s good for your eyes, beneficial to pregnant women, crucial for healthy skin and skin repair, reduce acne, slow signs of aging, and great for your hair.
As it contains vitamin B6, which is essential for maintaining brain function, it is considered one of the best brain foods. Also, being rich in in potassium and magnesium, mango is a great remedy to control high blood pressure.
Best of all, mango is delicious and tasty. It can be mixed with other dishes or smoothies to be part of your diet.
Who should not eat mango?
Diabetics should not eat mango because it is one of the sweetest fruits and contains a high amount of sugar. Diabetes patients should consult with a doctor about eating mango. If not, mango may be harmful to their health.
Other people who are allergic to mango may have symptoms like a runny nose, stomach pain, sneezing or feel hard in breathing.
For normal people, it’s better not to exceed 2 servings of mango per day.
Freezing helps mango not over ripened
Mango is a delicious tropical fruit and can be used in many ways whether young or ripe. However, when the mango is too ripe, its taste will no longer be delicious. Moreover, it will be soft and smelly.
If you want to freeze mangoes, be sure to choose ones that are fresh, ripe, and in season, as they will be sweet enough, not sour, and not mushy. The ripening time of mangoes happens so quickly, you may forget and not eat them all before they are overripe and spoiled. Therefore, please pay attention to your mangoes to preserve them in time.
Freezing is a great way to easily save fresh mangoes and enjoy even they’re out of season. Mangoes stored in this way will not be overripe and rotten. Moreover, you can use it up to 1 month.
Further reading: What Are the Best Cheap Freezers for Home Use?
Do frozen mangoes taste good?
Of course, frozen mangoes will never be the same as fresh mangoes. The taste remains largely unchanged, the main difference being in the texture of the mango. Because of this difference, the usage of frozen mangoes will not be the same as that of fresh mangoes.
Frozen mangoes after thawing will be mushier, but the taste will not change compared to before freezing. Don’t eat a whole thawed mango, as it will be soggy and very soft.
3 Ways to freeze mango
To freeze mango the first thing to do is to make sure your mango is ripe and no longer sour. Do not pay too much attention to the color, because often mangoes will not ripen evenly. You should check its ripeness by squeezing it lightly to feel it. Do not use much force. If you are not confident that you can identify correctly, then practice gradually.
Once you’ve selected a ripe fruit, you can choose from one of the following three ways to freeze mangoes:
Sliced and chucked mango
This is the fastest way and has the longest storage time. This way you can freeze the mango for a long time, up to half a year. You can defrost as much as you want when needed.
Peel the mango and cut the mango flesh into pieces, according to the shape and size you like. Consider what shape your box is to decide on the right fit. The most commonly cut shape will be the small cube.
Then take a mat and place the blocks so they don’t stick together and put them in the freezer until solid.
After the mango has frozen, put it in a bag and remove the air inside. This way you can preserve the mango for a long time.
Mango syrup
This method will take more time than the above method.
- Peel the mango and cut it into chunks.
- Put sugar in warm water and stir well, then add ascorbic acid and syrup in ratio 1:4.
- Mix the solution until everything is dissolved.
- Place the mango and pour the syrup into the container.
- Then close the lid and put in the fridge.
Pay attention to leaving extra space in the box.
There are many types of syrup so you can use any flavor you like.
Pureed mango
When you don’t have a lot of mangoes and they are leftovers, this will work great for you.
Place the peeled mango in a blender. Blend everything until smooth, then pour the liquid into a sealed container. Finally, put it in the freezer.
You can also use an ice tray to store the finely chopped mangoes in the freezer.
You may also like: Best Small Freezers for Garage
How to thaw frozen mango
– Defrosting in the fridge: This is a safe way, but it takes a long time about 8 hours. Place a bag or box of frozen mangoes from the freezer into the fridge overnight.
– Use water: This is less time consuming. Place frozen mangoes in a bowl of normal temperature water for 1-2 hours, depending on how deep you want to defrost.
In some cases, you don’t need to do anything. You may use mango immediately without thawing. Just remove mango from the freezer and use in dishes or smoothies right away.
Recipes with frozen mango
These are the most common ways:
– Make a smoothie: You can use this in your breakfast by blending frozen mangoes with some other fruits and foods like Greek yogurt.
– Use with other cooked dishes or salads to enhance the unique taste.
– Add to cocktails for a tropical flavor.
Some specific ways to enjoy frozen mango are:
- Quick dessert or sweet side dish: To make it, you can mix frozen mango, banana, strawberries, and oranges in a bowl with lime juice and honey. It’s best when serving chilled.
- Mango kebob: You can try this dish by adding thawed mango to the skewers to sweeten up your traditional kebobs.
- Frozen treat: This is quite simple and can be a favorite treat for your children, especially on summer days. Just blend frozen mango and orange juice. Then, freeze them in ice trays or Popsicle molds and enjoy.
- Mango puree: Use puree frozen mango to drizzle over an ice cream. Raspberries can be used for toppings.
- Mango tea: You can add frozen mango to flavored ice teas to enjoy a natural sweet taste. It also looks great and keeps your drink cold longer.
- Quick breakfast: Using thawed mango with layer low-fat vanilla yogurt, whole-grain granola, raisins. Enjoy your healthy breakfast.
Conclusion
There are many ways to freeze mango, choose the way you like to preserve them for a long time. Frozen mangoes will still retain the flavor and can make many delicious dishes. Hope this article will provide you with the information you need.
Reference:
1. Freezing mango, flouronmyface.com, Retrieved on Jan. 8, 2022
2. 3 Ways To Do Freeze Mango, canyoufreezethis.com, Retrieved on Jan. 9, 2022
3. The king of fruits, Zainab Khawaja, Jul. 2019
