How To Tell If An Avocado Is Ripe – With their creamy texture, unique taste, and nutritional value, Avocado has made its place in many kitchens and cuisines. Avocado is considered a major staple in breakfast for Americans. But, how do you feel when you cut an avocado into slices just to find it unripe or not ready to enjoy? That’s disappointing, right? Even I faced this situation many times.
We know how pricey Avocados are, as they are seasonal fruits in many regions. We buy them out of excitement, most of the time without knowing whether it is completely ripe or not. What do we do if we find it does not ripen after cutting it? We just waste it. This is the reason it is very important to know “how to select the Avocados”, and “how to tell if an avocado is ripe.”
5 Tricks On How To Tell If An Avocado Is Ripe
To enjoy the perfect taste of an avocado, we must select the one that is just perfectly ripened. If it is unripe or hard, we get a sour taste and cannot mash it. If it is over-ripe, everyone may not like the overly messy avocado. Then how to choose the just perfect one? Fear not! Here we are with a few simple tips and tricks on choosing a perfectly ripened Avocado.
So far we are discussing only about how to choose a perfect ripen avocado. But, how to ripen an avocado fast at home if you end-up with a raw one? Worry not! here is our secret tips to ripen avocados fast at home using simple methods.
The Color Test – Check Skin Color
When you choose mangoes, what color mangoes do you prefer to have immediately, A green one or a yellow one? In the same way, choosing a perfect avocado depends on color mainly. Ripe avocados usually have a dark, pebbly skin shading almost ebony or purple in hue. Their exterior will appear dull and muted rather than vibrant.
On the other hand, avocados with greener or yellower skin tones indicate that the inside flush is hard and unripe. These fruits have yet to attain their optimal ripened state of creamy consistency and rich flavor.
The Feel Test – Squeeze Avocado
When you squeeze an avocado, the feel of it tells everything – whether it is unripe, overripe, or just perfect to buy. To check that, hold the avocado in your palm and apply gentle pressure on it with your palm and fingers. If the avocado yields to light pressure, neither stiff nor limp, then it’s ready to eat and ripe.
On the other hand, when you put pressure on an Avocado, if it’s firm and not yielding, then it is not ready to buy. If it feels like limp and squishy to even gentle squeezing, then it is overripe.
Stem and Bottom Check
Though checking the stem is not a foolproof, it’s another fun trick to check the avocados. Pop the small stem at the top of the avocado. If it comes off easily with gentle pressure, leaving a light green spot underneath, that’s another sign of ripeness. A ripe avocado’s stem should come off easily with a gentle twist. But if the stem won’t budge, or it is stubborn, your avocado needs more time.
Cracks On The Outer Skin
Avocados’ sensitive flesh can cause its outer skin to somewhat swell as they ripen from the inside out. When fruits are fully ripened, they may have minor cracks, fissures, or crevasses that occur across the formerly taut surface. The fruit’s outer layer naturally cracks or becomes striped as the fruit’s interior continues to soften and change throughout the ripening process.
Therefore, the appearance of any complex cracking schematics suggests that the interior is almost completed. On the other hand, avocados whose skin is still smooth and free of any cuts or separations suggest that the fruit’s internal growth process is still in progress. And that it is not yet fully ripened enough to be enjoyed.
Check The Color Near The Stem
Avocado stem is another factor that reveals whether the fruit is ripened or not. To test this, slightly loosen the avocado stem from its perch. Gently twist or spin it back and forth. Now look at the exposed portion of the fruit flesh, exactly where it was attached to the stem stump. Closely observe the color of that area (stem).
If the Avocado is ripe, the area is commonly discolored in golden, or light brown manner. If it is unripen, it shows green or yellowish color. These paler hues suggest that the inner flesh isn’t fully ripe and not ready to pick.
Other Factors
These are just a few of the Avocado ripeness check methods. Those with a strong smell sense, choose avocados basis the smell test also. The aroma of the avocado can reveal whether it is under-ripe or over-ripe. A perfectly ripe avocado will have a subtle/nutty smell.
Climatic conditions, time since bought, harvest time, and type of avocado, all these factors matter when testing an avocado. But not to worry if you choose an over-ripe avocado by mistake. Some recipes can be done with over-ripe avocados as well. Just experiment with it, and next time you will not waste any of them.
