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| Read it here |
Buying and eating Avocado is daunting if you have never bought or eaten them before. But once you learn about it and how to choose them, you will want to make this fruit part of your diet intake.
First thing you must know is that Avocado do not ripen on the tree. It will only ripen when you pluck it from the tree. Of course if you leave it long enough on the tree, it will eventually fall off and then will ripen and perhaps even grow into a tree.
Rule of thumb - Avocado that is green is not ripe. Avocado that is ripe is not green.
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| Fresh is green, not purple or black as they are ripe, possibly overripe |
Just to clarify one more step, there are a few variant of Avocado available commercially. There is the Australian Hass Avocado and there is the New Zealand Avocado. Biggest differences is the size of the seed. Hass has smaller seeds which meant you get more flesh. New Zealand has slightly bigger seed (about 10% bigger). To put it into perspective, it is like comparing the new Malaysian 50sen coin (representing the Hass) with the old Malaysian 50sen coin (representing the New Zealand).
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| Image from Today-Malaysia.com |
The local variants - found in abundance in Sabah, has much larger seeds and obviously much less flesh. Justifiable with the price that usually sold in kilogram; typically RM12/kg (and you get about 6 to 7 fruits). Compare this with the imported variants that will typically sold at RM10 for 3 (typical in market) to RM15 for 3(highest i have seen at MBG Fruit Stall). Expat supermarket such as Jaya Grocers are selling them between RM3.99 to RM4.69 each. Lowest i have bought so far RM10 for 4 at the local wet market.
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| Image from Lynx-with-a-backpack at blogspot. Advice not to drop by there, as there are malware detected on the blog page, please be informed. |
Now that you are more informed about the local and imported avocados, how do you choose which one to buy? Which one is ripe? How long can you keep them? Here is a guide to choosing and buying, storing, and eating Avocado. This updated entry has more up-to-date tips on choosing/using Avocado compared to the post here.
Choosing and Buying
Specific to the Hass, New Zealand and Local avocado, they are usually green when unripe. If you purchase your Avocado green, It will typically take up to 5 days to ripen. If the Avocado is slightly darker and turning purplish or reddish, they are at the stage known as breaking and is about 2 days to ripen.
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| Breaking! Breaking! And 4 Avocados for RM10! WooHoo! |
While color could be a good indication of the ripeness of the Avocados (it turns from Green (raw) to Rich Purple (ripe), to Black (overripe) the best determination is by using the pressure test. When choosing an Avocado, do not press it with your thumb or finger as you will bruise it and that spot will turn darker faster. Instead, hold them in your palm and squeeze it.
Green Avocado will be firm (using steak analogy, very well done), Breaking Avocado will be slightly firm (well done), Rich Purple Ripe Avocado will be slightly soft (medium), and overripe black Avocado will collapse under firm pressure and felt mushy. With some exposure and experience, you will be able to tell when the Avocado will be ready!
Storing
Avocado stores well in the fridge and it slows down the ripening process. Use this to your advantage as you can then plan your Avocado consumption, especially when you buy them in bulk like I do. A Green Avocado will ripen up to three days slower when left in the fridge, giving you up to a week of storage time. When you are ready to eat it, always plan two or three days ahead. Remove the Avocado from the fridge and leave it outside of the fridge. The Avocado (which should be at the Breaking stage now), will start to darken and ripen within the next 48-72hours. Leaving it near the window sill where the sun shines will fasten the process.
From experience, Avocado can exhibit the same color between Breaking and Ripe but the firmness of the fruit changes. Always give the pressure test on the Avocado stored outside the fridge that was placed/prepared for consumption.
Eating
Avocado is fantastic with anything. It gives a different texture and subtle taste to the food you pair it with. It is great alone and even better with some other food. To use Avocado, choose a ripe fruit and halve it around the seed. You do not need to cut through the seed as that would damage the flesh inside due to the cutting/pressing pressure. After cutting around the seed, gently part the Avocado and one side would still have the seed stuck on it. Use the tip of the knife, carefully poke into seed and pop it out. Again, careful not to poke too hard in case it misses the seed and cut through the flesh - not the Avocado, but YOUR HAND. Keep the Avocado flesh light green and not with red stain.
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| That is how you do it! |
With that done, you can then take a spoon and scoop the Avocado out and use it for your food preparation! Here is a few suggestion for consideration
Alternatively, you can slice up some Avocado and toss them into your usual home Salad for a fantastic healthy meal option!
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| As per my Instagram upload |
Or drop a can of Tuna into the Salad and perk it up with Avocado!
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| Seen in my Instagram upload |
Happy Choosing, Storing and Eating Avocado. As usual, if you find this useful, share the blog post around!
I only like my avocado shower gel and hand cream lol
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