Mango season in Gran Canaria starts in July and lasts about six months. By the end of mango season you’ll notice that price are going down and flavour is going up. If you’re here all year round, the best time to buy your locally produced mangos is in October, November and December.

But how do you pick the best mango? Flavio wrote a short guide to pick the best mango:

1) First of all, it’s good to know there are two sizes of mangos available: you’ll find the small ones (the size of a peach) in, for example, in Hiperdino or Mercadona. Then there are the big(ger) ones, which you usually find in local markets, local shops and farmers markets.

2) It’s best to choose a medium sized mango. The small mangos usually exist of a big pit with just a little bit of flesh. The big mango’s usually have less flavour.

3) When choosing a mango remember to smell the skin, it should have a pleasant perfume, very floral and fresh.

4) Hold the mango in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze it with your fingers. If the tips of your fingers can’t make any mark on the mango it’s still not ready and you’ll have to leave it at room temperature until it gets ripe.

5) When a mango is ripe it will be yellow or red or a mix of yellow and red. As you can see from the picture below, you will have to keep it outside or in the fridge depending on its color and when you plan to eat it.

Remember that mangos don’t ripe very fast. If you want the mango to ripe faster put it in a paper bag with an apple and it will do the trick. If the mango was picked too early from the tree it will not completely change color to yellow or red. That’s why it’s better to always get a mango that already has a red or yellow spot.

6) The flesh of a good mango should have a deep orange color, a wonderful floral perfume and not too many fibers. Mangos with a lot of fibers were picked too early.

Enjoy your mangos!