How to Pick Ripe Avocados

The pile of avocados at the store can be enticing. If you want a ripe avocado to use that day, however, you cannot rely on the way an avocado looks. Read on to learn how to pick a ripe one from the bunch.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

How to Pick Ripe Avocados

1. Choose an avocado without bruises or scars.

2. Pick that avocado up and examine the stem end. If the avocado is ripe, you will be able to pull the stem out very easily. If the stem is already missing, or your not sure how easy it was for you to pull out the stem, read on.

3. Hold the avocado in your hand and gently squeeze it. An unripe avocado will feel like a stone. An over-ripe avocado will feel loose under the skin. A ripe avocado will feel the same as if you were to squeeze the palms of your hands.

4. Know when the varieties of avocados are in season. Haas avocados are available year-round but at their peak from April to November. Fuerte are available from November to July. Reed are available from March to September. Booth, Lula and Taylor are available from the end of June through February. Zutano are available from October to May. Bacon are available from November through July.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can buy the avocado you need a day or so before you need it, you can ripen it yourself. Put it in a paper bag with an apple. The ethylene gas that the apple will release will speed up the ripening process.
• Avocados picked later in the season will take less time to ripen since they were left longer on the tree.
• Never put avocados in the refrigerator. They will only turn brown. They will not ripen.

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