Fresh Ingredients

Fresh Mango

Fresh mango is a sweet, mildly acidic tropical fruit whose flesh blends to a thick purée rather than giving a clear juice. Judge ripeness by feel and smell, not colour: the US National Mango Board says a ripe mango gives slightly when squeezed and often smells fruity at the stem. In a drink it needs lime to balance its sweetness.

Quick Facts

ABV0%

Legal categoryFood

OriginSouth Asia (widely cultivated globally)

Flavour Strengthlight medium

SeasonYear-round (best quality late spring to summer)

Our keeping timeRipe whole fruit: two to three days. Cut or puréed: within 24 hours, refrigerated.

Storage

Store whole mangoes at room temperature until ripe, then refrigerate. Once cut, use immediately or within 24 hours when refrigerated and sealed.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Fresh Mango

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

Ripe mangoTropical fruitSoft sweetness

Tasting Notes

Smooth, rounded tropical sweetness with subtle acidity and floral undertones. Adds body and richness more than sharp flavour.

Mango purées rather than juices

Ripe mango flesh is soft and fibrous, so a blender turns it into a thick purée rather than a juice. That suits blended drinks, and it works in shaken ones once strained. For something pourable, blend the flesh with a little water or lime and sieve out the fibres.

Judge ripeness with your hands

The US National Mango Board's advice is to squeeze rather than look: a ripe mango gives slightly, a medium one is somewhat firm and an unripe one is very firm. A ripe fruit sometimes has a fruity smell at the stem. Skin colour mostly reflects the variety, so a green mango can be ripe and a red one hard. Hard fruit ripens at room temperature, faster in a paper bag.

Fresh, frozen or from a carton

Mango forms for drinks

Fresh, ripe

Texture: Fibrous until blended and strained
Sugar: The fruit’s own
Keeps: Two to three days whole; 24 hours cut
Use: Blended or shaken drinks

Frozen chunks

Texture: Thick and cold when blended
Sugar: The fruit’s own
Keeps: To the date on the bag
Use: Blended drinks; less ice needed

Home purée, sieved

Texture: Smooth
Sugar: The fruit’s own
Keeps: 24 hours refrigerated, or frozen
Use: Shaken drinks

Mango nectar

Texture: Thin
Sugar: May be added
Keeps: As the label says once opened
Use: Long drinks; cut other syrup

Form	Texture	Sugar	Keeps	Use
Fresh, ripe	Fibrous until blended and strained	The fruit’s own	Two to three days whole; 24 hours cut	Blended or shaken drinks
Frozen chunks	Thick and cold when blended	The fruit’s own	To the date on the bag	Blended drinks; less ice needed
Home purée, sieved	Smooth	The fruit’s own	24 hours refrigerated, or frozen	Shaken drinks
Mango nectar	Thin	May be added	As the label says once opened	Long drinks; cut other syrup

Under the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013, mango nectar must contain at least 25% mango juice or purée, and added sugars or honey may make up to 20% of its weight, so treat it as sweetened unless the label says otherwise.

A mango drink needs more lime than you expect

Mango is sweet and only mildly sharp, so any mango drink needs lime, usually more than the same drink made with a sharper fruit. Rum and blanco tequila suit it; coconut milk, passion fruit and a little chilli are common partners. Taste the purée before adding any syrup, since a ripe mango may bring all the sugar the drink needs.

Using it

Using Fresh Mango

Usage

Peel and blend ripe flesh into a purée, strain out the fibres, and use it in blended or shaken rum and tequila drinks with plenty of lime. About 30 to 60ml of strained purée flavours a single drink; more makes it thick and sweet.

Pro Tip

Pass mango purée through a fine sieve before shaking it. The fibres that hold the flesh to the stone slip through a standard strainer and catch in the teeth; a sieve leaves a smooth, pourable purée.

Top Tips

Squeeze gently: a ripe mango gives a little. Ignore the colour, which depends on the variety.
Ripen hard fruit at room temperature, in a closed paper bag to speed it up, for a day or two.
Slice past each side of the flat stone to free two cheeks, then score the flesh and turn it inside out.
Freeze ripe cubes on a tray, then bag them; frozen mango goes straight into the blender.

Possible Substitutions

Frozen mango purée (good consistency, less aroma)

Production Method

Harvested ripe mangoes are peeled and blended or puréed fresh. Fibres are typically strained out before use in cocktails.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

How do you tell if a mango is ripe?

Squeeze it gently: a ripe mango gives slightly, a medium-ripe one is somewhat firm and an unripe one is very firm, according to the US National Mango Board. A ripe one sometimes smells fruity at the stem. Colour tells you little, since it follows the variety more than the ripeness.

Can you juice a mango?

Not in the usual sense. The flesh is soft and fibrous rather than juicy, so it blends into a thick purée instead of yielding a clear juice. For a pourable liquid, blend the flesh with a little water or lime juice, then sieve it.

How do you ripen a mango quickly?

Keep it out of the fridge, at room temperature, and put it in a closed brown paper bag to speed things up; the National Mango Board says it will be noticeably riper in about two days. Once ripe, it keeps two to three days.

Is frozen mango good for cocktails?

Yes, for blended drinks especially. Frozen chunks chill the drink as they blend, so less ice is needed and the result is thicker and less watery. For a shaken drink, thaw the chunks and purée them first, then strain out the fibres before measuring.

How long does cut mango keep?

Use cut or puréed mango within 24 hours, refrigerated in a sealed container; after that the flesh softens and darkens. Ripe whole fruit keeps two to three days. Freeze any purée or cubes you will not use the same day, and they go straight into a blender later.

What goes well with mango in a drink?

Lime first, because mango is sweet and only mildly acidic, and without citrus a mango drink tastes heavy. Rum and blanco tequila suit it, as do chilli, coconut milk and passion fruit. Keep the mango as the main fruit and let one partner sharpen it.

Is mango nectar the same as mango juice?

No. Mango nectar is purée or juice thinned with water and often sweetened; the Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013 set at least 25% mango for a nectar. Because mango flesh does not give a clear juice easily, many mango cartons on the shelf are nectars. For a cocktail, your own strained purée gives more flavour per measure.

Sources.

Correct as of 18 October 2026.

legislation.gov.uk, “The Fruit Juices and Fruit Nectars (England) Regulations 2013” (Schedule: mangoes 25% minimum juice or purée; added sugars or honey not above 20% of the finished weight).

Make something

Made with Fresh Mango

Often Used With

Updated 18 October 2026

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