Why I Store my Avocados in Water (And You Should Too)
September 21, 2016 12:13 pm
Have you had an avocado today?
Avocados are pretty awesome. Between the healthy fats, extra fiber, and host of micronutrients, they pack a hell of a health punch (not to mention they’re delicious).
They can be finicky, though. Finding ripe ones, cutting, pitting, and peeling them without a mess, isn’t easy, and if you want to save half the avocado without it turning into a mushy brown mess, it’s not the easiest. Fortunately, we’ve got a how-to guide for everything avocado so you can enjoy your tasty healthy treats mess free and even save some for later.
How to pick avocados
Avocados can be tricky to pick. You want to avoid the frustration of picking one that’s ripe in the store then finding out the next day that it’s overripe.
Personally, I recommend picking up a few avocados that are very clearly NOT ripe (rock hard and green in colour) and letting them ripen in the comfort of my own home where I can catch them at peak ripeness.
How to know when they’re ripe
Avocados have a pretty short ripeness window and you want to make sure you take advantage of it. A ripe avocado should have a very light springy give to it. If it’s rock hard, it needs more time to ripen. If it mushes in your hand, it’s off the deep end and unfortunately, you can’t get it back.
Another neat trick is to pull the the nub of the stem off the end of the avocado. You’ll get to see the colour of the meat under there. If it looks like a creamy bright green, you’re good to go. If it’s brown, you’re not in luck. The only trouble with this trick is that it only works once. If you take the stem out before it’s ripe, the exposed bit of meat will oxidize and show brown, regardless of how ripe the avocado is
How to store them for longer when they’re ripe
So you’ve picked out a few avocados to enjoy for the week. You’ve been watching them patiently and suddenly they’re ALL ripe at the same time! I love avocados but the idea of having 3 or 4 in a day isn’t too appealing, let alone, the extra 1000 or so calories you’d be adding by having that much extra fat in a day.
Once your avocado is ripe, just toss it in the fridge as-is and it’ll remain in that perfectly ripe state for a few more days. Making it easier for you to spread out your avocado enjoyment over a few days instead of in one giant avocado binge-fest
How to cut an Avocado without making a mess
Rest the avocado on it’s flattest side, use a sharp knife and gently pierce a whole in the skin of the avocado.
Cut through the meat until you hit the pit of the avocado.
Once you’ve reached the pit, slowly rotate the avocado around the knife until the line meets itself.
Put your knife aside, grasp one half in each hand and gently twist the two halves apart. You should end up with a perfectly separated avocado with the pit resting in one side.
How to pit an Avocado (the simple easy way)
Don’t fuss around and make a mess with a spoon when you’re pitting your avocado. Instead, use your ninja skills.
With your shape knife in one hand and the avocado half in the other hand, quickly tap the blade of the knife on the pit so that it sticks into it.
When you twist and pull the knife out, the pit will come with it leaving a nice clean half avocado.
How to peel an Avocado
You have a couple options here. Probably the quickest and easiest option is to take your knife, cut through the meat of the avocado but not through the skin. Cut the avocado half into appropriate sizes and then turn the peel inside out. If the avocado is ripe, the skin will separate easily from the meat of the fruit.
Alternatively, if you’re not feeling so dextrous, you can scoop the meat out from the skin with a spoon. It’s not as clean a process but it’ll get the job done.
How to store the unused half without it getting brown and gross
So you’ve prepped your tarty ripe avocado and you’re ready to throw it on top of a burrito bowl but you only want half. You don’t want the other half to go to waste but you don’t need it for now. As healthy as avocados are, they can pack a fairly large calorie hit (about 350 – 400 per fruit). That’s not a reason to be afraid of them, just something to be mindful of.
Anyway, most people will tell you to use lemon juice and saran wrap but that won’t last very long, your avocado might still go brown, and you might not have lemon juice on hand. Don’t worry!
All you need is a small tupperware and some water. Plop that avocado half in the tupperware face down and fill the container with about a quarter inch of water. Put the lid back on and put it in the fridge. This should keep your avocado half fresh and delicious for over 48 hours.
Avocados can be enjoyed so many ways. One of my favourite avocado recipes is this tasty avocado fries recipe from gimmedelicious.com (pictured below).
How do you like your avocados? Got a favourite recipe? Share it with us in the comments below! 🙂
