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How Do You Ripen Avocados? Learn how to ripen avocado in minutes

Updated on August 20, 2012
- How do you ripen avocados? by Rosie2010 -
- How do you ripen avocados? by Rosie2010 -

The avocado is a climacteric fruit (the banana is another), which means that it matures on the tree but ripens off the tree. Once picked, avocados ripen in a few days at room temperature.

To know whether an avocado is ripe enough to eat, gently press the avocado with your fingers. A ripe avocado will give slightly when you apply gentle pressure or give it a gentle squeeze. It's difficult to tell ripe avocados from the colour because some avocados remain green or dark green, some are deep dark green almost brown, and some almost blackish. Touching the avocado and applying gentle pressure or giving it a gentle squeeze is the best way to find out if it is ripe or not.

Ripe avocados should be eaten right away as they tend to overripe really fast if left at room temperature. If you are not ready to eat them, just put the ripe avocados in the fridge and they should be okay for a week.

However, most avocados sold in stores are not ripe. So, how do you ripen avocados?

If you bought unripe avocados, just leave them on the counter and they will ripen in a few days.


Cut Avocado, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Cut Avocado, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Cut unripe avocado in cubes before heating, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Cut unripe avocado in cubes before heating, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Bananas (or apples) will help ripen your avocados faster, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Bananas (or apples) will help ripen your avocados faster, photo from Google images - How to ripen avocados faster
Guacamole, photo by storage278, source Photobucket - How to ripen avocados faster
Guacamole, photo by storage278, source Photobucket - How to ripen avocados faster

If you want to ripen avocados faster, here are a number of ways you can do:

  1. 2-4 days - Put avocados in a brown paper bag or wrap them in newspaper. Put in a dark place and check on them in two days and every day after that.
  2. 1-3 days - Put avocados in a brown paper bag or wrap them in with an apple or a ripening banana. This should ripen avocados faster because of the ethylene gas from apples and bananas. Check avocados everyday as they tend to ripen a lot faster this way.
  3. For immediate use - If you cannot find ripe avocados for your guacamole today, you can ripen avocados even faster by heating the avocados. Heat will make the avocado soft and ready to mash for your guacamole.

Here are two ways to heat your avocados:

  • Wash avocados. Gently pat them dry with paper towel. Using a fork, pierce some holes on the skin. Place avocados in a microwave dish and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Check for softness. Be careful, they might be a little hot. If they feel soft, they are ready. If not ready, heat for another 30 seconds. Keep on heating in 30 seconds increments until soft to the touch. Don't overheat the avocados as they will go dry.
  • Another way of heating avocados is by scooping the fruit in a dish, or cutting them in cubes and microwave for 30 seconds. Check for softness by pressing a fork on the avocado. If not ready, heat for another 30 seconds, and another, if needed, until avocado is soft enough to mash.

Please note that methods 1 and 2 are the best ways to ripen avocados faster and still retain the fruit natural tasty flavour and texture.

Using method 3 will cause the avocado to ripen much faster, but will lose some, if not most, of its natural tasty flavour. So, use method 3 only if really necessary.




More on avocados:


Enjoy your avocado.




Did you know?  by Rosie2010

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