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Your Avocado Story !!

Hey there fellow Avocado-lover, we literally feel the same for this superfood. Avocados, now a staple in West have gained immense popularity in India, and why not? They have smooth and buttery flavour, immense health benefits and super versatility. We can mutually agree that it’s not the most wonderful experience when you are ready to eat and cut an unripe or over-ripe Avocado. This blog post is to help you prevent such experience and choose the best Avocado for usage.

Note: This blog discusses about the single imported variety available in India called Avocado Hass. There are other varieties such as Fuerte, Ettinger, Reed, and Sharwill available in the West but have no popular presence in our country.

1. Colour Check:

This is the rain check you need when you plan to purchase an Avocado. There is a famous saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ which philosophically holds true for most things in life except, Avocado. The Avocado tells exactly about how it’s feeling on the inside through the colour of its outer skin. Thus, a single glance at the fruit gives you vital information for your purchase decision. If you are looking to buy Avocados for immediate consumption, get your hands on darker shades purple black. But if you want to use Avocados after a while, say after 3-5 days, select the green ones. Whatever you choose, make sure the skin is consistent with no punctures or breakdowns.

2. The Squeeze Test:

This step is vital. Colour check has filtered your options already and now you are left with all shades of purple black Avocados (assuming you are buying ready to eat ones). Now the challenge is critical – which shade of purple black to go for? The squeeze test addresses this issue. Like we Indians are accustomed to fiddle with most fruits in our hand, we need to do the same with Avocado. There should be slight softness when you apply pressure from your thumb or index finger. If the softness gives way to more pressure, the Avocado is over-ripe and should be avoided. If you are looking for an Avocado to eat after a while, say after 3-5 days, choose a green one.

Whatever you choose, make sure that the Avocado does not have any air bubbles ie layer of oxygen between the flesh and skin. Absolutely reject any Avocado with air bubbles because the flesh of such Avocados turns brown/black on the inside.

3. The Cap Test:

It is safe to assume that you got your hands on some great Avocados by following the above two tests. This step is an additional tool which helps you verify if the Avocado is ready before you peel it. Avocado has a unique quality that its stem is almost detachable and re-attachable. The stem which is also called a cap of the Avocado, tells a lot about the fruit. While getting all ready to peel the Avocado, detach the cap and look inside the hole. If the area underneath is greenish, the Avocado is good to go for slicing, eating or making anything out of it. But if the area is brownish in colour, the Avocado is over-ripe and is best to make things like Guacamole.

Hopefully this blog helps you to never encounter a bad Avocado in life.

What might help you further is how to store the Avocados. It is quite simple actually. If your Avocado is unripe (Green) keep it either closed in a paper bag with Onion/Banana or inside the Onion shelf. Onions & Bananas releases ethylene which helps speed up the ripening process for Avocado. But if you have got a ripe Avocado, but do not want to eat it right away, just store them in a refrigerator. The chillier temperature slows down the process of ripening.

Note: Never store an unripe Avocado in a refrigerator.

Enjoy this superfood as it was meant to be!