Did you know that they don't ripen on the tree like the way most fruit do?
Avocados are purposely harvested prior to ripening.
So, almost like the way florists have to plan for their event arrangements as far as
carefully considering how long it will take the flowers to come to full bloom or not full bloom
depending on the occasion and style... chefs have to do that as well when it comes to
the produce being just right!
When I go to the supermarket... I will search the produce items carefully through the bins.
When I want that perfect avocado I want one that is not green but black. I also
feel them gently pressing on them to see if there is one that is soft. I also want one that has no
cracks or sunken spots for those will be areas that are going to be black and going bad.
For those of you that feel like you have to shake everything--
if you happen to shake your avocado and you hear rattling... don't get that one for if you hear
rattling it means that the pit has pulled away from the flesh and it will be waaaay over ripe.
If you don't need your avocado right away and want to ripen it at home---
make sure you don't put it in the refrigerator because they will never ripen in cold temperature.
Place it in a brown bag so that the gas that is released that helps it to ripen basically gets trapped.
This should take about 4-6 days.
If you want to naturally ripen it even faster... you can throw an apple, banana or tomato
in the brown bag with the avocado and it should take anywhere from 1-3 days depending on
room temperature etc..
You can refrigerate avocados but only when they are finished ripening.
They should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator after they are ripened.
Zestfully, Let's Cultivate Food
