Summer means mango season, and with its sweet, juicy taste the mango tops everyone's list of favourite fruits. But not every mango in the market has the same taste and quality. Some are picked unripe, while others become overripe and lose taste and quality.

To choose good-quality, naturally ripened mangoes, it helps to know a few things. Here is what to look for when buying.

One of the main features of a ripe mango is its sweet, pleasant aroma, especially near the stalk. If there is no smell, or very little, the mango can be assumed not to be fully ripe.

A simple way to judge ripeness is to hold the mango and press it gently. A well-ripened mango will feel slightly soft; if it is very soft, it may be overripe. It is not right to squeeze every mango in the market, though; testing one after deciding to buy is enough.

Many people judge mangoes by colour, but not all varieties turn the same colour, so the condition of the skin matters more. Check whether the skin is smooth and whether there are cuts, bruises or other marks.

A wrinkled skin usually signals a loss of freshness, and such mangoes may have lost moisture. A good mango is usually taut, full and attractively shaped, which is easy to spot.

If you hold two mangoes of the same size, the one that feels heavier is usually more likely to have more flesh and juice, so it is good to consider weight as well as size.

A naturally ripened mango usually shows an even colour and has a natural sweet aroma. On the other hand, it is best to be careful about buying mangoes that look unusually bright or have ripened unevenly.

Keeping these simple points in mind will make it easy to choose sweet, juicy, good-quality mangoes at the market.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.