Mangos have a large, flat central seed that’s as long as the fruit itself and generally an inch or so thick. Stand the mango on one end. With a sharp knife, cut from the top down, keeping the knife blade parallel to and as close to one side of the seed as possible.

Repeat on the other side of the seed. This releases two mango “cheeks,” as they’re called in culinary parlance.

One side at a time, trim the peel from the strip of mango flesh on the narrow side of the seed.

Then cut the strip of mango away from the seed, keeping the knife blade as close to the seed as possible.

You can then chop those two strips of mango or leave them long, depending on your recipe.

With a small paring knife, score the flesh of each cheek in parallel cuts, taking care not to cut through the peel.

Then cut crosswise to make small squares.

Push against the outside of the mango skin to flip the fruit inside-out. The flesh pops up in neat cubes of fruit just begging to be eaten.

To release the flesh for use in recipes (or for easier eating), carefully undercut the squares with your knife.

Another method of removing ripe mango from the skin is to hold the mango cheek in your hand and use a large serving spoon to scrape the tender flesh from the outer skin.

The spoon method yields a large piece of mango that you can then slice in whatever manner you prefer.