Avocados are delicious, creamy and just so versatile. You can throw them in salads, blend a heart-warming soup, serve as a dip or enjoy plain juicy slices on crisp toasted bread. But for all the usefulness, avocados are also high maintenance. You might be ready with the best recipe to make guacamole tonight, but your avocados aren’t. Firstly, you can’t buy ripe avocados that you want to use later, they turn rancid very quickly. Secondly, if you buy unripe avocados you need to wait till they ripen before you can use them. The wait can be long and sometimes unfruitful. Some of the unripe avocados can be as hard as rocks. No, seriously. You have to carefully nurture the avocado to perfect ripeness and creamy tenderness. Use these simple and smart tricks to ripen your avocados faster.1. Place the avocado in a brown paper bag along with a banana or an apple and leave it under the sun for a day. Together the banana or apple and the avocado release a gas called ethylene that hastens the ripening process. You can even place just the avocado in a paper bag and on a sunny window sill but this will take longer about 3-5 days. It does require some patience, but this seems to be the most effective way to ripen avocados. Renowned Chef Martha Stewart swears by this trick, you might as well give it a shot.
3. This is trick can be used if you have a last minute house party and want to make quick guacamole. Blend the unripe avocado with a cup of peas until smooth. This will help adjust the consistency of the avocado dip without affecting the flavour much.4. Bought an avocado you thought was ripe but wasn’t? You’ve already cut it open but it’s not ready to be thrown into that salad? No worries. Rub some lime juice and place the two halves back together. An acidic agent like lime juice prevents it from becoming too mushy and brown. Wrap it tightly in plastic or cling-film. If you don’t have it, use an airtight container. Place this in the refrigerator for a day or until soft. Keep checking for ripeness.
5. Another easy way to soften a hard avocado is to cut the stem and create a small opening. Fill this with sea salt and place the cut top back like a lid to seal the avocado. Your avocado should be ready
in a day.
How can you tell if the avocado is ripe?It can be disappointing to cut into an avocado that you’ve been waiting to ripen and find brown, slimy mess instead of the beautiful green, creamy texture. Don’t worry; we have few easy ways to find out whether the avocado is ready or not. The easiest is to scrap the stem or the cap of the avocado. If it comes off easily and a green, creamy texture reveals itself it indicates that your avocado is ready to be devoured. If the avocado is too soft, it’s probably overripe.
Ripe avocados should be stored in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process. For ripe, avocados make sure you pick the ones that a perfectly green and yield to gentle pressure. These should last for at least 2-3 days.
2. Can you really ripen an avocado in just 10 minutes? Well, if this trick is to be believed then you probably can. Wrap an avocado with aluminium foil and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees. You can even place the avocado in a pre-heated oven but make sure to check the progress every five minutes. Do not microwave avocados, this will ruin their taste.
5. Another easy way to soften a hard avocado is to cut the stem and create a small opening. Fill this with sea salt and place the cut top back like a lid to seal the avocado. Your avocado should be ready
in a day.
Ripe avocados should be stored in the refrigerator to slow down the ripening process. For ripe, avocados make sure you pick the ones that a perfectly green and yield to gentle pressure. These should last for at least 2-3 days.
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