It is difficult to exaggerate the popularity of the avocado, the green fruit with a creamy texture and deep flavor that came from Central America and has become a must-have product on the menu of many countries.
However, buying an avocado can be a very frustrating experience, because the fruit has its own rules regarding when it chooses to be ripe, and as we know - there is nothing more disappointing than an avocado that is not ripe enough and has the texture of hard Lego blocks.
ready to eat
Avocado, photo: Yehoshua Yosef
The one who is trying to come to our aid this time is "Augustman", a Singaporean lifestyle and food magazine, which published a simple guide on how to choose the avocado in its perfect state, when the green superfood fits exactly your requirements and will be ready exactly when you want to eat it.
The guide mainly refers to the "Haas" avocado, a variety developed by an American postman who patented a strange type of fruit that happened to grow in his yard, and since then its good taste has made it one of the most common on the planet.
According to the magazine, this strain also has much better signs to know what the condition of the fruit is.
According to the guide, first of all you should examine the color of the skin and then feel the fruit, but most importantly, and this is emphasized at every stage, do not mess with the piece of stem attached to the avocado.
The reason: removing it prematurely will cause the fruit to oxidize and ripen quickly, and there is a reasonable possibility that it will turn into a disappointing, black pulp before it reaches your plate.
Here is a breakdown of the avocado types:
give me a bite
Avocado in the supermarket, photo: Dodo Greenspan
sour
A ripe avocado of the Haas variety is characterized by a light green skin and a smooth skin without bumps.
It should feel very hard to the touch and won't budge if you put pressure on it.
If you don't need an avocado in the first three to five days after buying it, an unripe fruit can be a great choice and can wait at room temperature until fully ripe, just be careful not to remove its "sting".
almost ripe
Such an avocado will have a dark green skin with black spots and it will have a bumpier skin texture.
The fruit will be softer than an unripe avocado and will show some flexibility when you use it, but will not give in to your hand and will not deform when you apply pressure on it.
An almost ripe avocado will be ready to eat within a day or two, and it is important to keep it at room temperature.
A few hours before you intend to eat it, you can remove the "sting" and let the fruit oxidize and soften at a rapid rate.
How would you like to eat it?
Avocado, photo: Dodi Vaknin
fully ripe
The holy grail of the vegetable department in the supermarket or vegetable garden.
A ripe ace avocado will be a very dark green-dark brown color, and sometimes it will blacken to the color of an eggplant.
Its shell will be very bumpy and slightly reminiscent of alligator skin.
It will feel soft to the touch and it can be shaped by hand, but it is important to note that it will not be liquid or mushy.
An avocado with all these characteristics is ready to eat the same day, and it is important not to keep it for more than a day because it will start to spoil.
too ripe
The color of the skin of the avocado will be black and it will be hard and bumpy, and sometimes it will separate a little from the inside of the fruit.
A simple touch will reveal that the contents of the fruit are liquid or mushy in any oily texture.
The fruit itself will often have strange bumps and tears in the skin.
Overripe avocados are the worst category to choose from, because other than a bland and disappointing guacamole or an unbalanced flavored smoothie, there's almost nothing you can do with an overripe avocado.
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