The fruit should give when pressed gently. Avoid any with too many black marks.

When overripe, its flesh becomes stringy. Its color is not a sign of ripeness, but variety.

 Store at room temperature if the mango is not yet as ripe as you wish.

Wrap in brown paper at room temperature if you wish to accelerate the ripening process.

Place in the crisper of the refrigerator if you wish to stop the ripening.

 Nothing is more flavourful than a perfectly ripe mango eaten on its own. Cut in half, remove the stone and then score the fruit with a sharp knife, bend outwards and enjoy the cubes.

• Excellent in salads and with white meats.
• Add a tropical touch: Purée mango, whisk with olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and lime juice and use to marinate poultry or as a dressing for chicken breasts or mild greens.
• Broiled - Cover with thick yogurt flavoured with honey. Sprinkle with a layer of brown sugar and caramelize under the broiler.
• Sauté in butter and heighten its flavour with a sprinkle of curry powder.
• Replace the diced tomato in tabbouleh with diced mango. A great accompaniment for shellfish - you can even use the shells to serve this unusual salad.
• Make fritters with brown sugar and ginger.
• It makes sublime ice cream: to give it more personality, add a few slices of preserved black olive.

Philippines
Banana, mango and pineapple in jelly: layer with jelly made of water, sugar, lime juice and rice vinegar.

Portugal
Smoked duck breast with mango vinaigrette on a bed of cress. For the dressing, purée mango with plain yogurt and a little vinegar.

Jamaica
Mango chutney with raisins, sugar, white wine and allspice.

Thailand
Rice with mango (dessert) - Prepare a rice pudding, replacing the milk with coconut milk and sugar. In dessert cups alternate layers of pudding and mango slices. India - Mango is an essential ingredient in Indian chutneys.