The fruit of the avocado tree in our latitudes is considered exotic, but, nevertheless, few people are surprised. Avocado is a fruit that is high in healthy fats, and yet it does not have a specific taste, which allows you to add it to both sweet and savory dishes.

By the way, the nutritional value of this fruit is as follows:

A ripe avocado should be soft and open on its own with a little pressure. However, due to the fact that this fruit takes a long time to reach our country, it can be brought slightly unripe in order to be able to be sold within a certain time. Therefore, no one is immune from the fact that when buying, you can stumble upon unripe avocado. What to do?

In order not to get into trouble with the purchase of fruit, you should know How do you know when an avocado is ripe? Since we are talking about fruit, the rules for choosing it are the same as for pears or plums that are familiar to us.

• Dark green color. If the avocado is slightly lighter, then this indicates that the pulp inside is not yet usable. The riper the fruit, the darker it will be.
• Softness. The softer the avocado, the higher the chance that you can eat it immediately after purchase.
• Shank. The fruit under the cutting should have a light yellow color, which will be a sign of its maturity.

Depending on when you need to eat an avocado, you can choose a greener fruit. It is worth remembering that even if you have chosen a fruit that is not ready for cooking, it can always be helped to ripen. Let's figure it out

How to speed up the ripening of avocados

If avocado green, but it must be eaten, there are several ways, how to make an avocado ripe. After purchase, at home, this fruit can be stored for a maximum of two weeks, even if it was originally green. To delay the ripening process, it is better to keep it at temperatures up to +10 degrees, and what to do with green avocado to mature faster? To do this, you need to do the following:

• Place in a paper bag. When ripe, ethylene gas is formed, and if the fruit is exposed to the open air, this useful gas will evaporate. The package will help keep him.
• Store next to a banana or tomato. These fruits release more ethylene, so the avocado will ripen in 3 days. In this case, the bag should be regularly filled with fresh air.
• Store the fruit at a temperature of 18 to 24 degrees. With this storage, the avocado will ripen in 2-5 days.
• How to make an avocado ripe in the microwave. This method will make the fruit ripe in a few minutes, so that it can be eaten almost immediately. To do this, you need to pierce the avocado with a fork in several places, put it in the microwave, cover with a lid (this will help to avoid an explosion), and keep it in the oven for 30 seconds. When the time is up, the ripeness of the fruit can be checked by its softness. If the fruit is still hard, then the process must be repeated.

These are the main secrets how to store an avocado so that it ripens.

Ripening sliced ​​avocado

It often happens that when buying a fruit in a store, it seems edible, but already at home it turns out that it takes more time to ripen. If the hostess is already, then this is not a reason to send the fetus to the discard. Even avocado unripe, his you can eat adding to casseroles or dishes that are cooked in the oven. For other cases it is useful to know, So, it is necessary:

• Add lemon juice
• Wrap in foil or close in a container
• Keep in refrigerator
• Periodically check the softness of the fruit.

Storing and using avocados

When half an avocado is not required for cooking, lemon juice can be added there - it slows down the oxidation process. However, avocados always have a place in their dishes - vegetarians use it to replace meat in sandwiches and salads, so you can always try new recipes for familiar dishes. Usually, avocados are served uncooked, but can also be used to make puree and guacamole sauce. This sauce is made like this:

• 2 garlic cloves crushed, mixed with a pinch of salt.
• Finely chop one tomato, ½ bunch cilantro and ½ onion.
• Cut the avocado, mash the pulp.
• Add lemon juice and mix with the rest of the ingredients

This sauce can be served with tortilla or toast.

Avocados are also used in milkshakes, and added to ice cream or other desserts. So, you can make green ice cream, for which you will need:

• Cut 3 avocados
• Squeeze the juice of 1 lime
• Combine avocado, lime, 1/3 cup honey, 1 cup yogurt and ½ cup cream in a blender
• Leave the mixture in the freezer for several hours

Of course, shrimp salad with avocado is considered a classic recipe with this fruit. For him you need:

• 200 gr shrimp marinate for half an hour in olive oil with lemon juice and paprika
• Grill
• Tear lettuce leaves
• Add 10 chopped cherry tomatoes
• cut avocado
• Mix with shrimp, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice
• Add salt
• Garnish with grated Parmesan

There are many recipes with healthy avocado fruit. The most important thing is to choose the right fruit, and then it will taste good in any dish.

Avocado is still a little known tropical fruit. The homeland of the "American Perseus" or "alligator pear" is the hot expanses of South America. The fruits of the huge evergreen trees look like green pears with a wrinkled skin. Avocado pulp is extremely nutritious and healthy. Rich in vitamins, acids and trace elements, Perseus is widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases, helps the body cope with cholesterol deposits, and helps with problems with the vessels of the brain. In cosmetology, avocado masks relieve the skin of acne, sebaceous plugs, smooth, moisturize and nourish.

Having decided to purchase such an amazing fruit, the buyer is often faced with the fact that only unripe fruits lie on the shelves of the store. This is not surprising, because fruits are brought to us for many thousands of kilometers. To prevent the fruits from spoiling on the way, they are not ripe. Green avocado is very tough, has an unpleasant bitter taste, it is impossible to eat it. This article details how to ripen avocados at home.

How to recognize ripe and unripe fruit

The main signs of a ripe avocado are soft, elastic pulp. If you gently press the skin of the fetus with your finger, a hole forms on it, which quickly levels out. The rigidity of the fruit indicates immaturity. Too soft, flowing, smearing under the fingers, the fruit is overripe, and it is better not to buy it.

If you take an avocado in your hand and shake it, you can hear the tapping of the stone in the ripe fruit. The flesh of a ripe fruit is yellowish-cream, turning into green closer to the peel, quite pleasant in taste. The skin on a good fruit is always shiny bright green, without spots, cracks or other damage.

Ripening methods

If you managed to buy only unripe alligator pear fruits, it's okay. Ripening avocados is not difficult even at home. This does not require special tools and special skills.

In a paper bag

The easiest method to bring an avocado to ripeness naturally. This will require:

• thick opaque paper bag;
• perfectly ripe fruit, such as a banana, pear or apple;
• Actually, the avocado itself.

Perseus, along with a banana and an apple, is placed in a paper bag and tightly closed so that air does not penetrate inside. The package is left in a warm place. The secret of this method lies in the production of ethylene gas by ripe fruits, which will help the alligator pear to ripen in just a couple of days.

If there are no ripe helpers at hand, the avocado will ripen in a paper bag on its own. Only it will take more time, the fruit will become ripe in about a week.

How to ripen an already cut avocado

If it so happened that the unripeness of the fetus was determined only by cutting it, nothing is lost. Without removing the bones, the pulp on the cut is poured with lemon juice so that the fruit does not darken. Then the halves are connected together, and wrapped tightly with cling film or a plastic bag, put in the refrigerator in the vegetable compartment.

Important! The temperature on the shelf with the fruit must be at least + 5 degrees, otherwise the ripening process will not take place.

The ripeness of an avocado should be checked from time to time by pressing a finger on the peel. If a dent forms, then the fruit is ripe.

How to quickly ripen in the microwave

Thanks to this method, you can get a ripe fruit in a few minutes. Speed ​​is especially relevant if guests unexpectedly rush in, who need to be tasty and satisfying to feed. You just need to know that with such a rapid forced ripening process, the taste of the fruit may change somewhat, but it can be successfully added to salads and sauces. So, the order of work is as follows.

1. With a fork or a thin knife, prick the avocado from different sides to the very bone.
2. Place the fruit on a saucer and cover with a plate or lid so that it does not explode in the oven.
3. Set the program in the oven for 30 seconds. If, after this time, the fruit remains hard, leave it in the microwave for another half a minute.
4. Once completely cooled, peel and cut the avocado as usual.

Ripening alligator pear in foil

If there is no microwave at home, but there is an oven, getting ripe fruit quickly and efficiently is not at all difficult. To do this, it is enough to wrap the fruit in food foil, put it on a tray and send it to the oven preheated to two hundred degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. During this time, the avocado will become soft. The completely cooled fruit is peeled, the stone is removed and used as usual.

maturation in the newspaper

An old and well-known way of fruit ripening to all housewives. The fruits are wrapped tightly with newspaper one at a time and cleaned in a dark and warm place, for example, on a kitchen cabinet or in a box under the battery. There, in the warmth, apples, pears, and, of course, avocados ripen perfectly.

Storing a Ripe Avocado

A ripe whole fruit can be kept for a couple of days just on the table in a vase, it will not deteriorate. Half of the fruit must be sprinkled with lemon juice from darkening, wrapped in a film or put in a bag and put in the refrigerator (but not in the freezer!). There, the fruit will remain unchanged in taste for 3 to 4 days. If dark spots appear on the pulp, it is enough to cut them off, and the product can be used as food.

If you suddenly need to store an avocado for a long time, it is better to peel it, mash it and freeze it. The mass can then be used to prepare a variety of sauces and soups or for cosmetic purposes. So that the puree does not darken, lemon or orange juice is added to it.

To make tasty and healthy dishes with avocados, it is better to buy fresh alligator pear fruits more often and try not to allow them to be stored for a long time. The greatest value lies only in fresh and ripe fruits.

Do you still think that the best place for an unripe fruit is a trash can? This is true when it comes to pineapples, grapes, citrus fruits, strawberries or cherries. But with bananas, avocados, apples, pears and some other fruits, the situation is completely different. The problem of unripe fruit can really be solved at home.

We determine the ripeness

Avocado is a tasty and healthy fruit. Those who eat it constantly know perfectly well how to distinguish a ripe fruit from an unripe one. The skin of a ripe avocado is dark green. If you press on it, you can feel that it is slightly soft. In a ripe fruit, the stone is easily separated. Therefore, if you shake it, you can hear a tapping inside. Unripe avocados are lighter in color and firmer. But if you come across a fruit that is too dark in color, then it has already overripe.

The Secret of Ripening

If you bought an unripe avocado, this does not mean that you are a loser. In fact, to meet this fruit ripe on store shelves is a rather rare phenomenon. And all because most of them are picked while still green and delivered to Russia in this form. Avocado does not ripen on a tree. Usually this happens in the box in which it travels to its destination, and this is not always the case.

It turns out that fruits, like vegetables, ripen thanks to a special phytohormone - ethylene. This is a special gas that is released in the cells of the fetus. So, in some species (for example, strawberries, cherries), ethylene is released only if they are attached to the stem, and they have access to nutrients. If you pick a berry, all processes will stop. But in avocados and bananas, ethylene continues to be released for a long time.

Some enterprises even have special ripening chambers. Ethylene is fed into them, and the fruit or vegetable placed there continues to ripen further.

What to do

You might assume that the average person doesn't have a maturation chamber at home, but you won't need one. The most common ripe banana will do. Ethylene continues to be released from him - and this is exactly what we need. Place an unripe avocado and banana in the bag. After three days, you will find not one ripe fruit, but two whole. Another option is to simply leave the avocado in the bag. In any case, it will ripen itself, it just takes a little more time. After ripening, the fruit must be stored in the refrigerator. There, the maturation processes are significantly slowed down.

What to do with a cut avocado

In order to make sure that the fruit is unripe, many people cut it. Do not despair, this will not interfere with further maturation. It is necessary to fold back the two halves and leave the avocado for several days. Those parts that will come into contact with air may darken a little. Then, when you use avocados for food, you can simply cut them off. Another way to prevent fruit from oxidizing is to sprinkle it with lemon juice. In this case, the stone from the avocado should not be taken out.

What else will help

Instead of a banana, you can use other fruits that, after being plucked, release a large amount of ethylene. It can be:

• apples,
• apricots,
• pears,
• kiwi,
• peaches,
• mango.

It should be noted that in recent years, breeders have been breeding more and more varieties of fruits in which ethylene is not released after they are harvested. This is necessary so that the fruits have a marketable appearance for as long as possible. Therefore, if you put an avocado with an apple of this variety, it will not speed up the ripening. It is also very important to note that ethylene release is enhanced if the fruit is damaged or lacks moisture.

In addition, if, for example, you bought two avocados, and one of them turned out to be unripe, you can safely put them together for a few days. Much more ethylene is released from a riper fruit. And this means that an unripe avocado will soon become the same as its neighbor.

What won't help

It should be remembered that only ethylene can help ripen avocados. None of the other methods will give such a result. Meanwhile, some argue that you can use the microwave and oven to ripen avocados. In fact, these methods can make the fruit softer, but it will still be unripe. This will affect the taste of the avocado, and besides, for some recipes, such methods are not suitable at all.

Store avocados with bananas

The easiest trick is to put an avocado in a bowl of bananas. Both emit ethylene, a gas that breaks down acids and the green pigment in fruits and speeds up their ripening. Paired with a banana, there will be more gas, therefore, the process will go faster. Depending on the firmness of the fruit, ripening will take one or more days, so be patient.

Put avocado in a craft bag

Throw the avocado in a bag, put it in a dark place, and within four days the fruit will ripen. If you don't feel like waiting so long, put an apple on it - another source of ethylene. Due to the fact that the gas will be locked inside the bag, ripening will accelerate, and a ripe avocado awaits you in a day.

Most importantly, do not forget to check daily to see if the fruit is overripe. If deep dents remain when pressing on the skin, then the avocado has deteriorated.

Instead of an apple and a banana, you can take a tomato, potato, kiwi or mango.

Bake an avocado in the oven

Sounds weird, but it really works. A completely green fruit will not work - you need the avocado to be at least minimally soft. Wrap it in foil, bake for 15 minutes at 200°C, and then put in the refrigerator to cool and not soften.

If you bought a stone avocado, keep it in a paper bag for a day or two, then put it in the oven.

The exotic fruit, the avocado, has become a very popular ingredient in salads, fish food appetizers, and other dishes. The main problem when choosing it is that it is difficult to determine the ripeness by its appearance and it is easy to make a mistake by buying an unripe copy. How can you ripen an avocado at home, how long does it take for it to ripen, this is what today's story is about.

This fruit with oily pulp is just a storehouse of useful vitamins and minerals. It is suitable for people with a lack of weight, and krupnyachka who want to lose weight. Contains a lot of iron, potassium, phosphorus, selenium and other elements.

• with problems of the gastrointestinal tract;
• to strengthen immunity;
• used as an aphrodisiac and to improve potency;
• regular consumption relieves women from pain during menstruation.

Not ripe, it tastes like a pumpkin, fully ripe - it evokes different associations in people, it reminds someone of butter with nuts, others - fried chicken, the third - fried zucchini.

How to choose ripe fruit

Let's figure out how to tell by appearance that an avocado is ripe and not ruin your gourmet dish. A ripe specimen differs in the color of the peel, the degree of softness of the fruit, the condition of the tail, and how well the bone separates from the pulp. It is necessary to pay attention to these nuances when choosing a fruit.

signs of ripeness

Let's take a closer look at each of the signs, so that later you won't be mistaken when buying an exotic product. Determining maturity is not too difficult, but it should be borne in mind that ripe fruits are not stored well and are easily damaged during transportation and storage, so the alligator pear (another name for it) comes to us unripe.

Peel shade

In an unripe fruit, the skin color will be rich green. Ripe fruit has a darker green rind. In an overripe specimen, the skin will be very dark, almost black.

Bone and tail condition

In a ripe fruit, the stone is easily separated from the pulp, and if the stalk is removed, the depression will be light green. The brown shade of the pulp after the removal of the stalk indicates that the alligator pear is overripe, yellow indicates insufficient maturity.

Fruit firmness

This is one of the main indicators of ripeness. If the selected specimen is hard, the skin is poorly peeled even with a knife - the fruit is not ripe. Hard avocados can ripen at home, but sometimes it takes a few days.

Important: hard fruit does not need to be cut immediately after purchase - whole and with a bone it will ripen faster.

You can check the ripeness by pressing lightly on the fruit. If it is slightly squeezed, but at the same time the pulp quickly returns to its original state - you have a ripe specimen in front of you. If, after light pressing, the dent on the fruit remains, it seems too soft - you have come across an overripe fruit.

What to do with an unripe avocado

If the purchased copy turned out to be unripe, do not worry. It can be helped to acquire the desired look and taste. There are several simple ways to save a product.

Warming up in the oven

Unripe fruits must be washed, wiped, pricked with a fork in several places and wrapped with food foil. The blanks are placed in an oven preheated to 200-210 ° C and left for 10-12 minutes. In this way, it is possible to quickly soften the avocado, even if an unripe fruit is caught.

Ripe with boiling water

Boiling water is able to quickly bring the green fruit to a state suitable for consumption. Avocados need to be peeled, cut into slices and blanched in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. After that, the liquid is allowed to drain, the pulp of the fruit should cool. From this fruit you can make salads, stuffing for sandwiches.

in the microwave

Ripening an avocado in the microwave is quick and easy. Ready fruit is suitable for salad. It needs to be pricked in several places with a fork and placed in the microwave for 30 seconds. After that, lightly press on the fruit and, if the avocado needs to be softened further, the procedure should be repeated.

Important: high temperature treatments are effective, but they can change the aroma and taste of the product - it will become much less pronounced.

After heating, the fruit should be allowed to cool, after which they are cut into pieces.

in polyethylene

This method of ripening is used if the fruit is already cut, and it is impossible to use it due to insufficient maturity.

In this case, the stone is not removed, the fruit halves are sprinkled with lemon juice (so as not to darken from a large amount of iron), folded, forming a whole fruit, and tightly wrapped with polyethylene. After that, it can ripen in 2-3 days. The fetus should be checked periodically; once it becomes soft, it can be used.

Aluminium foil

It will also help speed up the ripening of avocados, if an unripe fruit was suddenly bought. It just needs to be wrapped in foil, tightly and without exposed areas, and placed in a heated oven.

On the windowsill

If there are several days in stock, an avocado wrapped in foil or paper can also ripen on a warm windowsill. To make the avocado soft, it should be carefully wrapped and left for a few days to ripen.

Using newspaper or paper bag

Another old way to get ripe fruit. Avocados should be tightly packed in a newspaper or paper bag. Under such conditions, it ripens quickly, retaining its taste.

What to put with an avocado so that it ripens faster

To speed up the ripening of a fruit placed in a bag of paper or newspapers, bananas or tomatoes are placed with it, an apple is perfect. The package is tightly closed and left for several days. If you store these foods together, the avocados will ripen much faster, as the ethylene released speeds up the process.