You need to know how to ripen mangoes overnight if you need them for tomorrow morning.

Mangoes are the king of fruits and are popularly nutritional with unique flavor, fragrance, and taste. Mangoes can be pulpy and sumptuous, and also pack a host of health benefits as well. Rich in magnesium and potassium and can remedy high blood pressure.

If you crave mangoes, you should not have to wait until they feel soft on your kitchen counter. You can actually have them ripen overnight and still come out as that juicy, sweet fruit.

How to ripen mangoes overnight

Do the following to make your mangoes ripen quickly overnight:

1. Store them in a paper bag

Leaving mangoes in a paper bag or wrapping them in the newspaper will speed up the ripening process. Just place mangoes in a paper bag at room temperature and allow them to store for a couple of nights until they ripen.

Read also: pineapple may ripen in one night

You can move the mangoes to the fridge once ripen to slow down ripening for several days if you are not ready to consume them immediately.

This trick also works for tomatoes. It is okay to leave the bag or newspaper on your kitchen counter overnight for ripeness in the morning. Microwave the fruit briefly the next morning.

2. Surround mangoes next to ethylene-based fruits

You want to surround mangoes with ethylene (ethene)-based fruits such as bananas, apples, or kiwis to speed things up.

Bananas, kiwi fruit, apples, tomatoes, figs, pears, and some other fruits release ethene, a gaseous plant hormone as they ripen. These climacteric fruits will respond to ethylene in their environment and start ripening. In the process, they ripen other fruits next to them.

Bananas are medium-level ethylene producers compared to kiwi fruit, for instance, which produces more. However, bananas are larger, and you will often have a bunch in your fruit bowl. Ethylene gas is also used commercially to ripen bananas.

3. Use the microwave

Your microwave will speed up the ripening process of your mangoes. However, this method reduces the amount of sweetness but will ripen mangoes overnight.

Read also: coffee haters: what can change your mind

Get a knife and gently poke the mango in 4 or 5 places to help the steam escape. Wrap the mango in a paper towel and leave it in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

Press into the mango gently but firmly to check if it is ripe. It should be slightly soft. Otherwise, microwave it for an additional 10 seconds until it is ready to eat.

4. Submerge mangoes in uncooked rice

You can also leverage ethylene gas to ripen mangoes overnight by submerging them in a large bowl of uncooked rice. Even popcorn kernels will increase the ripening rates overnight.

Final thought

You can tell if your mangoes are ripe by smelling them—sniff the stem. If you perceive a heavy, fruity odor, they are ripe and ready. Otherwise, you need another night or two for the mangoes to ripen.

The mango color is not a reliable way to know if it is ripe. Ripe mangos also have burnt yellows and rich reds more than soft greens. A ripe mango is not always red and yellow, so use the softness or smell as your guide.