The Avocado tree is an evergreen tree with numerous branches. This buttery fruit bearing tree can grow up to 40-80 feet. Avocado leaves are oval in shape and 3-10” in length. The flowers are small and green. The fruit itself might be round, oblong, or pear shaped depending on the type and variety. The skin might be woody or pliable, smooth or rough and of different colours. The flesh of the fruit is a gorgeous green-yellow, black, purple or reddish-purple in colour. It is a greenish yellow and supremely buttery when it’s perfectly ripe. The seed makes up to 10-25% of the total weight of a fruit.
Different stages of Avocados:
• Stage 1-Hard: A very hard fruit with no give. It’s fresh off the tree. ~5+ days until it ripens.
• Stage 2-Pre-Conditioned: Very firm but the ripening has begun. 4-5 days until ripe.
• Stage 3-Breaking: Fruit yields slightly due to pressure but still firm. 2 days until ripe.
• Stage 4-Firm Ripe: Fruit is ripe and optimal to be sliced or cubed.
• Stage 5-Ripe: Soft and ripe. Perfect to mash.
The different colours of an Avocado
The colour of the fruit is probably the first thing we notice. The colour tells if the fruit is/will be ripe and ready to consume. Younger fruits have a green skin, and as they ripen, they turn from green to purple. And finally black when it is in stage 5.
If you’re looking to consume the fruit within the next day or two, go for an avocado with a purple or black coat. Or go for the green ones if you plan to have them for a few days before consumption. That being said, colour might not always be a foolproof indicator. A dark green/purple avocado might seem like it’s perfectly ripe, but cut into it and it might be bruised or brown.
How do you know an avocado is ripened?
• Stem
To make sure the fruit is perfectly green, creamy on the inside, and free from brown spots, check under the stem. This part of the fruit shows what’s going on under the skin. If the stem comes away easily and it’s green underneath, it’s a ripe avocado that’s ready to eat. On the other hand, if it’s brown underneath, the avocado is overripe, and you’ll probably find brown, bruised spots. And, if the stem doesn’t come off, the fruit isn’t ripe yet.
• Pressure
Hold the avocado in your palm and give it a little squeeze. Be careful to not pierce the fruit with your fingertips. A ripe fruit will yield to gentle pressure. If there is no give when you squeeze it, it will take 5+ days to ripen. Never buy a fruit that is bruised, has squishy spots or broken skin.
How to accelerate the process of ripening?
It can be ripened faster by storing it in a brown paper bag with a ripe fruit such as apples, bananas, kiwis, mangoes, or apricots. Leave the room at room temperature. Both fruits will release ethylene gas as they ripen and the bag will trap the gas and cause it to ripen faster. This usually takes 1-2 days.
How to slow down ripening?
To slow down an avocado from ripening, you can:
• If you use only half an avocado, leave the pit in the other half. It’ll cover some of the surface area and will reduce exposure to air.
• You can also squeeze and spread lemon juice around to the rest of the exposed fruit, and wrap tightly with cling film.
• Apply olive oil. It will be a barrier between the fruit and the air and reduce browning. Citric acid reduces browning as well.
• Place a cut avocado in an airtight container with a sliced onion. The strong chemicals released by onions will delay browning.
Avocado Recipes on the Blog
Avocados are too precious to be chucked into the bin. If you have an avocado slip that’s overly ripe, the simplest solution is to cut off brown/bruised parts of the flesh and consume the parts that are still good. Owing to the it’s buttery texture, overripe avocados can be whisked, blended, or mashed into an endless range of dips, dressings and sauces.
Poached Eggs on Avocado Toast
An easy snack! Correction, an easy healthy snack and an immunity booster. This recipe features Avocados and Eggs in its truest form, without any oil, butter and unnecessary jing-jang.
Vitamins A, C, and E are all present in the flesh of tasty avocados — and in this case they’re as immunity boosting as they are delicious. Eating avocados could help ward off illnesses and runny noses, simply by helping your immune system fight off bacterial attack.
While poached eggs on the other hand are the best form of eggs. Eggs contain all the nutrients that the body needs to produce energy. A healthy immune system: The vitamin A, vitamin B-12, and selenium in eggs are key to keeping the immune system healthy.
Easy Guacamole
For this recipe, I use a different spice mix. Every guac recipe have the same basic 4-5 ingredients but only the seasoning changes. After a lot of batches, I have best landed a mix of these spices & seasonings, Salt, Cajun & Cayenne Powder.
How to choose the correct avocado? It’s a fruit which requires serious planning, yes it does. It’s color ranges from a solid light green to a mushy deep dark purple. Now, never go for the extremes especially the latter one. Now, if you are making it 3 days later, go for a dark green. If you’re making the spicy dip at home tomorrow, look for a very dark green turning purple (semi soft) kind avocado. An avocado for today would be a purplish brownish one, more soft than hard but not mushy! Hope this helps to clarify which avocado to choose from.
Hi! How are you today?
My name is Sohail Nath and I welcome you to my happy place, @boy.eatsworld.
This blog, my creativity’s nest covers travel inspirations, authentic yet homemade recipe and food blogs.
