To Pick Fresh Avocados, Check Color, Firmness, and Texture:
- Color: Ripe, fresh Hass avocados are usually dark green to nearly black. Bright green ones are likely not ready to eat..
- Firmness: Gently squeeze the avocado in your palm. If it yields slightly, it’s ripe. Hard/firm ones need a few days. Mushy ones are likely overripe.
Avoid squeezing with fingertips to prevent bruising. For best results, buy avocados based on when you plan to eat them: firm and green for later, slightly soft for today or tomorrow.
Storage Tips:
- Store ripe avocados in the fridge to slow ripening.
- Place avocados in a paper bag with a banana or apple to ripen faster.
- You can freeze ripe, cubed avocados for smoothies.
Stem Test Caution:
- As with all fruit, once you break the skin, the oxygen in the air will cause browning. Whether it’s ripe or not, popping off the stem at the market or in your kitchen triggers premature oxidation. We don’t recommend doing this, as it can negatively impact color, texture, and taste when you are ready to eat the avocado.
Plan your shopping by buying avocados at different ripeness stages to ensure fresh fruit all week.
How To Pick and Buy Ripe Avocados
Like bananas, peaches, and other fruits, avocados have a specific ripeness period that makes them ideal for any meal. However, if you were to cut an underripe avocado, it won’t be ready to eat. If you wait too long to eat an avocado, you’ll find that it’s overripe. The key to avoiding either situation is to know when and how to pick and buy the perfect avocado. In this guide, we’ll discuss key tips to remember so that you can enjoy avocados for every meal!
Not Ripe | Firm
DAYS TO RIPE: 4-5 Days
An unripe avocado will have a bright green color, feel hard, and not yield to gentle pressure. These avocados are best to buy four to five days before you eat or serve them, as they’ll need time to ripen. If you store these avocados at room temperature (65-75 degrees F), they will continue to ripen at their typical speed. If you place them in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana, you will speed up the ripening process. These fruits release ethylene gas, which helps other fruits to ripen faster.
Almost Ripe | Breaking
DAYS TO RIPE: 1-2 Days
Also known as “breaking” avocados, almost ripe avocados will vary in color and feel less firm than unripe avocados, but won’t yield to gentle pressure. If you cut breaking avocados, the seed will be difficult to remove, and the flesh will be too firm to mash for recipes. Breaking avocados should take a day or two at room temperature (65-75 degrees F) to ripen.
Ripe | Ready to Eat
DAYS TO RIPE: 0 Days
If avocados yield to firm, gentle pressure, they are ripe and ready to eat. They will feel slightly soft, but they won’t feel “mushy” to the touch. If avocados are ripe, you should plan to eat them that day. Otherwise, store them in the refrigerator if you plan to eat them within a day or two to prevent them from becoming overripe or spoiled.
Overripe | Past Ripe
DAYS TO RIPE: Past Due
Overripe avocados will feel very mushy to the touch. Their skin may have deep indentations and a dull black color. And they will have darker yellow or brownish colored flesh throughout the inside of the fruit. Spoiled overripe fruit will have a rancid smell that some describe as smelling like “a pumpkin” or “squash-like”. For the best eating experience, pass on the overripe fruit and enjoy ripe, fresh avocados.
What to Look For When Buying Avocados
When you’re actively in the store, looking to buy avocados, you should analyze several key characteristics in each avocado to pick the perfect one.
Color
While color may not always indicate ripeness, many ripe fresh Hass avocados will be darker than others with lighter skin.
Don’t rely only on color, though, because sometimes you will have lighter color avocados that are ripe, and vice versa. Like any other fruit, you’ll want to check for indentations that may indicate bruising.
Firmness
Firmness is the ultimate indicator of whether your avocado is ripe. To gauge the firmness of an avocado, place the avocado in the palm of your hand. Gently squeeze without using your fingertips, as this can cause bruising.
If the avocado does not give at all to any pressure, it’s underripe. If it does give, the flesh inside will be soft and ready to prepare for your next meal!
“The Avocado Stem Test”: A Reliable Gauge for Ripeness or a Fluke?
While many people may use the “stem test” — popping off the stem at the top of the avocado to evaluate its ripeness —, we wouldn’t advise doing this unless you plan on eating the avocado right afterward. As with all fruit, once you break the skin, the oxygen in the air will cause browning. Whether ripe or not, popping off the stem at the market or in your kitchen triggers premature oxidation that can negatively impact color, texture, and taste.
Grocery Shopping Tips
Beyond gauging the ripeness of avocados, there are other tactics you can use in the grocery store to better enjoy your avocados, such as:
Buy avocados with a timeline in mind: If you know when you will eat an avocado, you can decide what ripeness stage to look for. You can purchase unripe, firm, green avocados four to five days before an event and store them at room temperature; they will be perfect if you’re anticipating enjoying them later in the week.
Buy avocados at different ripeness stages: By picking avocados at different ripeness stages, you can ensure you’ll have a ripe avocado every day. For example, buy two ripe avocados to eat them the same day and the following day. Buy two breaking avocados to enjoy them in three to four days. And buy three firm/bright green avocados to enjoy them in five days. Store them at room temperature.
Take advantage of coupons and store discounts: Some stores will provide discounts if you buy more than one avocado at a time, saving you money in the long run. Even with no discounts, avocados provide an excellent nutritional bang for your buck. Every serving, which is a third of a medium avocado, has 3 g of fiber and 6 g of unsaturated fats, helping you meet your nutritional goals.
After buying your avocados, keep an eye on their ripening. If the temperature in your kitchen is causing them to ripen too fast, you can store them in the fridge to slow the ripening process. You can also store cubed, ripe avocados in the freezer for future smoothies.
Ultimately, avocados can be a great addition to your diet and meals. Use these tips for picking your avocados, and you’ll be able to enjoy avocados with every meal! If you need more inspiration and recipes for your meals, check out Love One Today’s catalogue of meals. We have recipes for every occasion, so you’ll never lack options when grocery shopping for this versatile fruit!
