Ripening Avocados
Level:
Stage 3+
Store-bought green avocados are usually not ripe enought to eat. In this recipe you'll learn how to quickly ripen avocados so you can eat them sooner than later!
About the Recipe
I often buy packages of green avocados and ripen them myself (versus buying singular already-ripened brown avocados that are more expensive). I frequently use this technique so that I can always have home-ripened avocados on hand!
Equipment:
Large enough bowl
Ingredients
1 large navel orange (or 2 small ones)
Avocados
Instructions
Step 1
Place the orange(s) at the bottom of a bowl and arrange the avocados around the orange.
Step 2
Allow the avocados to ripen at room-temp out of direct sunlight. You can try to rotate them or turn them every so often if you feel this helps. Sometimes covering the bowl helps them to ripen faster, but not necessarily always.
Step 3
Check the color and firmness of the avocados daily.
Color: You want avocados that have started to turn a deep green. Take note that the entire avocado will not necessarily turn completely dark green all the time. Some avocados will ripen where half of it turns dark green and the other half still remains bright green. In which case you need to rely on testing the firmness below.
Firmness: You also want the firmness to be soft to the pressure of your fingers, but not mushy. With time you’ll learn to remember the softness that produces avocados to your liking.
Storage Instructions
If you are not planning to eat the avocados right away, it is best to store them in the fridge. Depending on their firmness, they can last up to several weeks in the fridge before the interior starts to get mushy and grey.
(in the photos below these avocados ripened exceptionally fast within a couple of days)
Troubleshooting
From the Author’s experience, usually avocados that are purchased during fall, winter & springtime will ripen within 3-5 days. However, avocados purchased in the summertime take much longer to ripen. And sometimes they do not soften at all. This is where you can experiment with covering the bowl to seal the gas (which expels off the orange as it ripens) from escaping. Or try to add additional navel oranges to increase the ratio of avocados-to-oranges.
(photos below where taken every second day - it took a total of 2.5 weeks to ripen)