HOW TO RIPEN AN AVOCADO THE RIGHT WAY

July 5, 2017
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Food We Love, SPUD Calgary, SPUD Edmonton, SPUD Vancouver, SPUD Victoria

What’s the best way to ripen an avocado? Fun fact – avocados don’t actually ripen on the tree. They only soften once harvested. That means that if you have an avocado tree and you’re not ready to eat all the fruit yet, the best place to store them is on the tree itself. But if you’re like me (living in Canada) you most likely do not have an avocado tree, and when you get an avocado you are probably wanting to eat it pretty soon. But what if the avocado is not quite ready?

At SPUD we try to send avocados that are on the firm side because a. they travel better and don’t get smooshed and b. that way you are not in a panic to eat ripe avocados the moment your order arrives. And remember that part about avocados not ripening on the tree? When we get avocados into our warehouses, they are still rock hard. Instead of just holding on to them until they ripen and then sending them out soft, it makes more sense to us to let you decide what avocado ripeness means “time for guacamole”. Avocado ripeness is a very personal thing.

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So now you know why your avocados are hard, but what can you do about it? You’ll see many articles on the internet claiming that you can ripen an avocado in 10 minutes by popping it in the oven at a low temperature for ten minutes or so, but I would recommend against that method. Yes, it may soften your avocado, but it will still have that woody, unripe taste. If you’re really in an avocado emergency, give it a try, but otherwise it’s worth having a little patience.

To truly ripen an avocado as quickly as possible without sacrificing taste, your best bet is to tuck the stubborn avocado in a paper bag with a ripe banana or apple, roll the top shut, and let it be (ideally somewhere warm, like a sunny windowsill). This works because the ripe fruit together with the avocado release ethylene gas, which will speed up the ripening. Check it daily to test the progress. If they end up ripe before you need them, just move them from the bag to your fridge’s crisper, which will help slow the ripening.