Avocados

There seems to be a short window where avocados aren’t too hard and aren’t too ripe. I often find myself needing to cut out brownish overripe areas.

Any tips on getting the timing just right?

Comments

  • i would like to know the same thing. avas are so expensive and i hate wasting money on em. yesterday i spent about 6 or 7 dollars on several avas and they were bad… ;(

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    I always save my grocery store receipts, tape them to the front of my refrigerator, and return them to the store if they are bad…they offer a 200% money back guarantee on their produce (Giant Grocery Stores) if it’s no good.

    I buy mine hard (greenish-brown in color), leave them on the counter for about 2 days until the skin turns a more solid color of darker brown and “gives” only a teeny weeny bit when squeezed…not much at all, just a little bit. If it’s solid as a soft ball, it’s too hard. Once it starts darkening, you can put it in the fridge to slow down the ripening process.

  • coconuttycoconutty Raw Newbie

    Yeah, sometimes it can be a bit hard to judge. I haven’t had good experiences buying them ripe from the store. Usually they are already past their prime if they are already sitting at the store ripe. So I just buy the hard ones. Look them over good, make sure there’s no blemishes, and make sure there’s no soft spots! Then it’s time to play the “check them twice a day” game (ha ha). I leave them out at room temp and as soon as I feel the slightest bit of give, that’s when they are ready! And If I have more than one that are ripe at the same time, the rest go immediately into the fridge and by the time I’m ready for them they are still good. Good luck with your avo’s! And as I’ve found, it just takes practice to know when the right time is!

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    They should be firm when you press/squeeze them… “giving” less than 1/4 inch when squeezed. And the little “knobs” or stems should come off easily… of course, if it doesn’t have one… well, good luck.

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    That’s so funny…I like them “giving” less than 1/32 inch when squeezed…guess it all depends on how soft you want them? :) I read somewhere that you can also freeze avocados, throw them in the freezer whole when they are ripe. Then when you want them, get them out, run under luke warm water and peel and throw into your smoothie or soups or whatever you are blending. However, some people liked it, some did not. Some said it altered the taste, others said it was fine. They all agreed though that it does change the looks of it slightly, so slicing it for on a beautiful salad was not what they were saving them for…might be worth a try with 1 or 2 of them someday :)

  • rawmamarawmama Raw Newbie

    Last 2 times we’ve bought ours from BJs, 4 in a net bag, and have had no problems with them at all compared to the grocery store. I do not buy them if they have any “give” or they’d all be too ripe, all at once, for us to use them in time.

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    1/32 is less than a 1/4 inch. You don’t want them too firm… hehe. Freezing? That’s intersting. Next time I have an avocado I can’t eat in-time, I’ll freeze it for my carob-avocado pudding. Thanks for the tip.

    I also heard that if the avocado peel has a break in it, that it will “heal itself”. I have my doubts on that one though…

  • Funny, had the same problem this week with mine. They were either rock hard and are still sitting on my window sill or they were mush. I hate the mushy ones, they have too much oxidized brown spots inside…bitter…!

  • Hi One thing you can do is put an avocado in a brown paper bag with an apple or two. They give off ethelene gas which will help ripen them faster. Also something I just learned about avos is that they are poisonous to dogs- particularily the pits and skin. So be careful!

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