Ah, avocados. Creamy, nutrition-filled, and satisfying. What’s not to love? Oh, right. The fact that there’s a tiny window of perfection between rock-hard and mushy mess. My husband has the uncanny ability to pick out the perfect avocado (as long as we’re using it within the next 24 hours), but for the rest of us, we can use all the help we can get.
According to My Domaine, there are a few tips for selecting the perfectly ripe avocado. For starters, you can look for hints of forest and kelly green on the skin. Next, check the “naval” of the avocado, where the stem separates from the skin. If it flicks off easily, the avocado is good to go.
You can also place the avocado in your hand and squeeze gently. Too much give, and the avocado is too ripe. Not any give, and the avocado isn’t ripe enough. Of course, hitting that sweet spot feels rather elusive, so to speak. Add in the fact that most of us do grocery shopping once or twice a week, and it’s hard to figure out the level of ripeness you’ll need for when you want to use your avocado.
That’s where this little trick comes in handy. For those of us without the “magic touch,” we often find ourselves erring on the side of caution to avoid the supremely disappointing mushy, brown avocado disaster.
Simply take your hard avocado and wrap it up in aluminum foil. Pop your foil-covered avocado in the oven at 200° for around 10 minutes, and then put it in the fridge to let it cool. Why does this work? Avocados ripen by producing the slow-releasing, ethylene gas. By baking it in aluminum foil, the gas surrounds the avocado, putting the ripening process into hyperdrive.
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