Q: I recently bought some mangoes to make into frozen yogurt. I let them sit until soft, and they tasted only faintly astringent when diced. But now that the yogurt is made, it's SO bitter! Is there a way to save it? How can I avoid this in the future?
Sent by Lindsey
Editor: Mangoes are really only bitter when they're under-ripe, so my guess is that even though they were soft, they still weren't quite ripe yet. The mango should give a little when you press it near the stem, feel heavy for its size, and smell sweet and floral. You might also try a different variety of mango, like Ataulfo mangoes. Baking the mango in something like muffins or cooking it into a sauce would also help reduce bitterness.
As for your poor batch of frozen yogurt, I'm afraid I'm at a loss!
Readers, have you ever had this problem with mangoes? What do you suggest?
Related: How to Cut a Mango
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hm, can you rechurn it and add something sweeter? honey? strawberries?
Try adding a little salt. Salt "plugs up" the bitterness receptors in our taste buds.
@Sillyputty - I guess that's why sprinkling salt on my sour cream makes it taste sweet! I noticed that years ago and always wondered why. Thanks!
In my experience adding sweet doesn't exactly counter bitter the way it does salty or spicy, but maybe you could serve the frozen yogurt drenched in some sort of sweet sauce or something? Like a strawberry sauce, as mentioned above? Sorry I don't have a better idea!
Why not to add the yogurt to a muffin recipe that call for buttermilk, usually you can replace the yogurt for buttermilk 1:1.
Haven't try it, but it should work.
Yeah, I would let it melt and sub for buttermilk in a sweet quickbread. Just cut back on the sugar since you presumably added some to the frozen yogurt (if not, that's your problem right there, ha!)
The reason it's bitter is because fresh mango (and pineapple, papaya, kiwi, figs,...) contain an enzyme that break down proteins (in this case the ones in your youghurt, but they will also 'tenderize' meat, or give you numb'tongue if you eat too much of the fresh fruit).
If you cook the mango (to denature the enzymes) before adding it to the frozen yoghurt, you won't get the bitterness (I had the same experience with a batch of kiwi frozen yoghurt).
If the bitterness in your mango frozen yoghurt is anything like what my kiwi stuff was, there is no way to fix/disguise it. Call it a learning experience and try again with cooked fruit.