Ripening an Avocado

[Charcuterer]

andiesenji,

Thank you for that link! I think that the avocados from Costco are the Gwen variety. Now I know why they don't get as dark when ripe!

[Jaymes]

I have noticed that when I buy Avocados from Trader Joes they seem to go straight from Hard to rotten. But the ones at Costco have a longer "grace period". When I put my avocados in the refrigerator I put them big end down in a large silicon muffin pan. The soft silicon gives enough that the fruit doesn't bruise.

We buy them from Sam's. The label says "Hass from Mexico." They're nicely-sized and really very good.

[weinoo]

You got some bad advice. Cold actually damages unripe avocados. Depending on the species, if you take them out of the refrigerator now, they'll likely go straight to rotting.

The CI crowd can be condescending, smug, unnecessarily circuitous in their thinking (including many a trip through the land of the Straw Man), and downright boring at times, but they're rarely out-and-out wrong. So I can't account for their results.

Damage to avocados seems to have a threshold of 45°F/7°C. Trucks and trains headed to New York get cold, I'm sure, but probably not that cold -- ruining a semi-trailer full of expensive fruit seems like a quick way to go out of business, so there must be a way to mitigate temperature. Or maybe they come in the hold of a boat.

Maybe I was too quick to throw CI under the bus...perhaps it's McGee who needs to go?

Earlier this week, I pulled out one of those still green avocados from the fridge (I didn't throw them away after all, wanting to experiment) and set it on the counter. As of today, I've had these avocados for 2 weeks, so for this particular avo it was about 10 days in the fridge and 4 on the counter. It looks like this on the outside...

And when cut in half, it looks like this...

Lo and behold, perfectly ripe and creamy and delicious, without even a hint of rotten or dry spots. Who knew?!

[JAZ]

Mitch, I'm confused -- if the avocado was in the fridge for 10 days and then it spent 4 days at room temp, isn't it likely that the fruit ripened during the days on the counter, and not in the fridge?

[weinoo]

Yes, I guess. But according to some, refrigeration is the bane of avocados, no?

My "experiment" seems to disprove both Cook's Illustrated and McGee. And Dave the Cook!

[Jaymes]

Lo and behold, perfectly ripe and creamy and delicious, without even a hint of rotten or dry spots. Who knew?!

Well, I certainly knew since, as I said above, that's exactly what I've been doing for some 30+ years, ever since we lived in Panama and had five avocado trees in our yard.

It works great in my long experience, so nobody could ever convince me otherwise.

[Varun Sheth]

Very interesting topic.

Here are my observations; We have a relatively hot and humid climate in Mumbai, India (90F)and I constantly seem to have trouble having my avocados ripen evenly. One in two does not ripen properly or at all. When they do ripen they are sometimes black on the inside (oxidization?). Also I have noticed that the variety we get here is very fibrous versus when I was in New York i never noticed this.

I have been typically ripening them at room temperature which can vary from 90-100F and the above inconsistencies are the end result. My vegetable supplier recommends that I put it in a box of uncooked rice to help speed up the ripening process but again the results have not been consistent.

From what I have gathered on this thread and links posted it may not be ideal to harvest avocados in hot weather which could be one of the reasons for inconsistencies. Couple things that I will try however are letting it ripen in a cooler room, (keep my air condition running!) as well putting in the fridge for a few days and then ripening both at regular room temperature here and air con room temp

[bigkoiguy]

Living in Alaska, our produce gets chilled simply moving it from the truck to the store, or bringing it home in the car! I always have problems getting ripe avocados, so I refrain from buying them in the winter!

[weinoo]

So in New York City, when people want (need?) ripe avocados, they're available everywhere; in bodegas, grocery stores, and from the guy with the fruit and vegetable cart on my corner. Problem is, buying a ripe avocado means that you're usually buying a piece of crap - bruised, battered and plenty the worse for wear.

 

As a public service, especially to those here on the east coast (but I'm sure this will work well everywhere), I took it upon myself to experiment. The absolute best way to get a ripe avocado is to buy an unripe avocado and let it ripen on the counter. Screw all the other methods. I'm specifically, in this case, referring to a Hass avocado, so don't get all upset.

 

The Hass Avocado - How Hard is That? 

[Jaymes]

Living in Alaska, our produce gets chilled simply moving it from the truck to the store, or bringing it home in the car! I always have problems getting ripe avocados, so I refrain from buying them in the winter!

I don't know where in Alaska you are but we were in Central Alaska for a number of years and not buying avocados "in the winter" would have meant giving up avocados for a very long time. And I wouldn't even consider doing that.

I had no problems at all when I just bought hard, unripe avocados and brought them home to ripen on the counter.

Even when the temperature outside was -30f.

 

ETA - And so now, bigkoiguy, I reread your post and see that you said you refrain from buying RIPE avocados in the winter.

 

In the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna...  never mind.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Jaymes (log)

[radtek]

I don't buy them year round for some reason; and have stored both ways fridge and counter with inconsistent results. Now I will let them set for several days before refrigeration.

[Jaymes]

I don't buy them year round for some reason; and have stored both ways fridge and counter with inconsistent results. Now I will let them set for several days before refrigeration.

I buy them year-round at Sam's or Costco in bags of five. They're hard when I buy them. I usually plan far enough ahead that I can wait a few days for a couple of them to ripen on the counter so I set two of them out and put the remainder in the fridge to hold until I'm ready to ripen them. I lived for several years in Panama where we had five avocado trees in our yard. I used basically the same system there. If I need some to ripen quickly, I put them in paper bags. It's been my experience that they'll ripen overnight in a paper bag.

[weinoo]

Are you talking Hass avos?

[Jaymes]

Are you talking Hass avos?

Hass are what I buy now. In Panama, to tell the truth, I'm not positive what variety they were. Four of the trees were the same variety. I'd say they were "hass-like" if not hass. The fifth tree was different. The Panamians called them "butter avocados." They were ambrosial. So smooth and creamy - buttery - and everybody's favorite.

[GlorifiedRice]

I buy the bag of avocados and put em on the table until they just give a little when pressed, THEN I put them in the fridge and they stay perfectly ripe for 10 days.

[scubadoo97]

When I bought my first vacuum sealer I sealed a cut avocado without a pit, sealed it and tossed it in the fridge.   After 2 weeks it was still green and no oxidation was noted.   I was sold on the sealer.  So if you have an avocado that is ready but you're not, vac seal it and it will hold up until you're ready 

[Anna N]

10 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

When I bought my first vacuum sealer I sealed a cut avocado without a pit, sealed it and tossed it in the fridge.   After 2 weeks it was still green and no oxidation was noted.   I was sold on the sealer.  So if you have an avocado that is ready but you're not, vac seal it and it will hold up until you're ready 

When you say "vacuum sealer" do you mean a chamber vac or a food saver type Vac?   I do not like avocados but I recognize their health benefits and I might be able to handle half an avocado in a week.   Being able to keep the other half for a while would be helpful. Thanks. 

[scubadoo97]

@Anna N  Food Saver 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, scubadoo97 said:

@Anna N  Food Saver 

Wow.  Thanks. Will give it a try. 

[dcarch]

I would say more than 50% of avocados go to waste because people squeeze them way too hard when buying.

They squeeze 10 to 20 before they buy one.

 

dcarch

 

 

[Dave the Cook]

19 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

When I bought my first vacuum sealer I sealed a cut avocado without a pit, sealed it and tossed it in the fridge.   After 2 weeks it was still green and no oxidation was noted.   I was sold on the sealer.  So if you have an avocado that is ready but you're not, vac seal it and it will hold up until you're ready 

 

 This totally works, pit or no pit. A half an avocado would never last two weeks around here, but we've gotten five days, easily.

[Jim Vanus]

First post on any forum here, so be kind. 

 

I've just about given up on Peruvian avocados due to their uneven ripening. I've gotten the same results from Peruvian avocados purchased from either Sam's Club and Costco. When I test them with finger pressure, the same as I do for Mexican avies, they seem ripe but when opened are still hard on the inside. If I wait another day or two after one seems ripe, it's already started rotting towards the outside. We typically lose about 1/3 of a bag due to uneven ripening. We never lose a Mexican avocado to uneven ripening.

 

Our home temp stays at about 74 degrees F. at countertop level with a humidity level around 50%. 

 

I've searched the Internet for clues about this problem but there's virtually no info about it. 

 

Has anyone else experienced ripening difficulties with Peruvian avocados?

Edited June 19, 2017 by Jim Vanus (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'm guessing what you are seeing is a fungus infection rather than uneven ripening.

 

[Jim Vanus]

18 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I'm guessing what you are seeing is a fungus infection rather than uneven ripening.

 

That could explain the brown pockets of rotten fruit on the surface. The same occurs on our Mexican avocados if allowed to ripen too long.

 

What puzzles me about the Peruvian avocados is that they become ripe near the rind while still hard towards the seed. They feel ripe but are not. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Thanks to google I found this link, maybe it will help:

 

http://www.flavorboulevard.com/one-shot-californian-avocado-vs-peruvian-avocado/