Avocados are the internet’s favourite fruit. However, its online popularity means there’s also a lot of misinformation out there about the humble and nutritious fruit.
The latest was a picture on Instagram claiming to show a genius new test to determine if your fruit is ripe. But sadly, for us Aussies, the hack isn’t true. The pic seemed so convincing. It shows two avocados – one with a green area under the stalk, one with a brown one. The accompanying text says that the colour of this area shows you if the fruit is ripe or not – green is good, brown means it needs more time. It sounds genius. The answer to our prayers. The end of avo-smash frustration once you realise your last one is as hard as rock. It was also posed by a health expert that I love and trust…..but, when we asked the avo experts if it was true, they told us that for us Aussies at least it’s sadly not.
‘In Australia we only harvest Shepard avocados with a small stalk so it’s not a reliable test for those here and Haas avocado is clipped so it’s not useful for those either,’ says John Tyas, CEO of Avocado Australia. Dreams vanquished. But despite taking away our ray of hope, John did however give us a few helpful tips that will help you choose the perfect brunch bestie….
Here’s how to pick the perfect avocado
- For Haas avocado – the one with the pebbly skin -colour is a good indicator if it’s ripe as it darkens as it ripens. As a general rule a green Haas avocado will be hard; a greeny black one will be hard but ripe and a purple black one is for those who like their avos soft
- Don’t squeeze the fruit. It bruises the avocado. Instead, press on the stem. If it yields to moderate thumb pressure it’s ripe. This is the only way to tell if a Shepard (the green pear shaped avocados) is ripe as these don’t change colour as they ripen.
- Treat them like eggs: Carefully. Squeezing them, throwing them into your trolley, packing other shopping on top can all damage the fruit causing it to go black and mushy in places. It’s better to buy them hard and leave them to ripen at home in a fruit bowl.
- To speed up ripening put the avos in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana for 2-3 days. Ethylene gas given off by these fruit will cause the avocado to ripen faster. Once they are ripe then put them in the fridge. They’ll stay at the same ripeness for about 2-3 days if cold.
- Lastly he busted another online myth. Don’t believe the hype about grinding avocado stones and throwing the powder in smoothies for a healthy antioxidant boost. The California Avocado Commission actively warns against it, while John Tyas says ‘We don’t recommend it at the moment. The literature suggests in small amounts its okay – but what’s a small amount? I would wait until there is conclusive research.’
More avocado tips for the avo lovers we all are:
