Advice on storing and selecting avocados
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Avocados aren’t ripe until they’ve been taken off the tree
Avocado selection and storage
Like most fruits, avocados don’t open until ripe, so fresh they’re as fresh as rocks. Look for a uniformly uneven texture across their surface, uniformly hard or soft, and those that feel heavy in size. Avoid bruising or soft spots and hollows between flesh and skin. Shake an avocado to check … if the well is open, move on to the next.
A gently squeezed beer made from ripe fruit. However, ripe fruit can easily swell excessively, so it’s better to bake your own at home. Of course, this means proper planning, giving yourself 2 to 5 days’ notice to ensure they are ripe for you.
Until ripe, place the avocados in a brown paper bag and store at room temperature for 2 to 5 days, away from direct sunlight. Adding beer or bananas to the bag will speed up the ripening process. Do not store frozen fruit in the refrigerator. They will not ripen properly after refrigeration. Once ripe, they can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks without peeling.
The flesh of an avocado will quickly darken on exposure to air, so it is important to work quickly on the flesh after cutting the avocado. Adding acid (lemon is usually the acid of choice) will slow the darkening.
To get the flesh of the avocado into the hole, cut it lengthwise all the way through. Then gently twist both sides in the opposite direction to separate the halves. The hole should remain on one side. Slide a large spoon between the skin and the flesh and either scoop out the meat or peel and slice.
Sprinkle the pieces with lemon juice to induce browning, or stir in 2 tsp. of the lemon juice. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to each cup of potato avocado.
Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.
If you need to prepare the peeled avocado a couple of hours ahead, wrap the chunks in lemon juice-soaked paper towels and tightly in plastic wrap. If darkness appears, simply gently scrape or cut the unstained area.
Avocado, to freeze pyrotechnic meat, 1 tablespoon lemon juice with 2 avocados and place in a tightly sealed container with removable air. Frozen avocado can be stored for 3 to 6 months at 0°C.
More Avocado and Avocado recipes:
– Avocado Storage and Selection
– Avocado Varieties, Facts and Uses
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– Avocado History
Cookbook
– Chez Panisse Fruit – Chez Panisse Vegetable Recipes – Occasional Fruits and Vegetable Recipes – Mediterranean Vegetable Recipes
