Avocado is a unique fruit that does not ripen on the tree but only after it has been harvested, and often reaches the right degree of ripeness to be consumed only once it arrives at your home. Unless you want to enjoy an avocado immediately, it's best to buy it while it's still hard to control the ripening process. Once you learn how to do this, you can enjoy this delicious fruit packed with 20 essential nutrients, vitamins, potassium and fiber.
Steps
Step 1. Choose and buy avocado
Hold the fruit in your hand and gently squeeze it with your fingers. Do not use your fingertips, a ripe fruit gives slightly under your pressure. Unripe avocados are tough and need 4-5 days to ripen at room temperature (18-23 ° C).
Step 2. Put the unripe avocado in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple if you want it to ripen quickly
The ethylene naturally contained in bananas and apples triggers ripening. Since all the fruits are in the paper bag, ethylene remains trapped in it, accelerating the process.
Step 3. Leave the avocado and other fruits in the bag for 2-3 days to get a good result
You can tell if the avocado is ripe if the peel gives way a little when you crush it.
Step 4. Put your whole ripe fruit in the fridge until you want to eat it, it will keep for 2-3 days
If you leave it for longer periods of time, the avocado will lose its flavor. If the fruit is ripe but you don't want to consume it yet, the refrigerator will help keep it from rotting.
Step 5. Sprinkle the chopped avocado with lemon, lime or vinegar juice
The acid in these liquids prevents the pulp from becoming dark. Also, if you plan on making guacamole, the lemon or lime juice will prevent the sauce from turning black. Store the avocado, wrapped in cling film or in an airtight container, in the refrigerator to slow down oxidation.
Advice
- You can't rely on color to determine the ripeness of an avocado. There are more than 500 varieties of this fruit and some turn dark green when ripe, others light green.
- You can freeze avocados to keep them for up to two months. It is best to freeze them after pureeing them rather than sliced or whole fruit.
