My Favourite Avocado “Need-to-Knows”
I only started to enjoy avocados in my early twenties. Bizarre because I love them SO much now, it’s hard to remember a time when I thought Avo’s weren’t lekker. Health tip: Avocados are one of the few fruits that contain healthy unsaturated fats, which help lower unwelcome LDL (low-density lipoproteins) cholesterol when eaten in place of saturated fat.
As amazing as the avocado is, it can be a precarious fruit. One never quite knows the absolute perfect time to slice that bad boy open. Sure, the label says “ripe and ready” but is it? Is it reeeeeally?
Below are a few tricks I have learned over the years to help maximise your avocado experience fully:
To Speed Up the Ripening:
Keep the avocado at room temperature, preferably in a brown paper bag with an apple, a banana, or ideally both. Bananas and apples contain lots of ethylene gas, which naturally speeds up the ripening process in other fruits and veggies.
To Preserve the Avocado Once Open:
To prevent your avocado from browning, drizzle lemon, lime juice or vinegar onto the flesh. The acidity will help keep it green and fresh. Then wrap the avo tightly with cling wrap, pressing it as close to the flesh as you possibly can before popping it into the refrigerator.
I need Avocado for Guacamole and I Need it Now:
You thought they’d be ready in time to make your famous guacamole but it’s a Saturday afternoon, the guests are arriving, and you only have 'almost-but-not-quite' ripe avocados in your kitchen. The solution? Very securely wrap the whole avocado in foil and bake it in the oven just under 100°C for 10 minutes. It isn’t complete perfection in terms of ripeness, but it will be softer and you will definitely be able to use it.
Keep Whole Avocados Out of the Fridge:
When unpacking the shopping, I have a tendency to stick avocados into the fridge but this is actually incorrect. You shouldn’t refrigerate avocados if you want them to be perfectly ripe and delicious. Having said that, if you have an avo that is already mushy but you’re not planning on using it right away, then by all means, refrigerate until ready to eat.
Avoid Dark Stains:
Any discolouration on the skin generally means the fruit is past its prime. So it's best to avoid those ones, to avoid disappointment. Opening up an overripened avocado can be emotional. For realzzz.