I've been trying to ignore my burning desire to make some guacamole because every time I go to the supermarket to buy avocados I can't manage to pick out good ones. They always either become too soft before I have a chance to do anything with them or are hard and not very tasty. How can I tell when an avocado is perfectly ripe?
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Depends on if you'll buy for instant consumption or for storage. If you want to eat/prepare them right away, you want an avocado that feels soft on the inside, when pressing them they will cede and have that soft feeling ripe avocado has. It shouldn't cede very much though, as those are past their prime. The very good ones even smell in a nice avocadoey way a bit (or maybe that's just my insanity.) If you want to prepare them later, you want firm ones that cede only a tiny little bit (the rock hard ones mostly never ripen in my experience,) you then store them in a porous bag (the typical brown paper bag or a newspaper) to let them ripe. To speed up the ripening, you can add an apple to the bag. See also this related question |
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If you can squish a avocado in your hand, it's much too ripe. Everyone else has had a squish of this avocado, and it's been manhandled. Depending on the variety in your supermarket (In Australia, we usually get Hass Avocados, which go from a green colour to a black colour), you want one that's still firm when you buy it, and after a few days in the fruitbowl with the apples, it will become a nice constancy: still not completely soft to touch, but you can't play football with the thing anymore. Give it a good mush with the lemon/lime/sour cream, and that avo is ready to become a GUACAMOLE! |
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A perfect avocado will be firm but not hard, and will not be squishy at the stem end. It will smell good, and the skin will be an even color all over. |
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Your best bet is to plan ahead and purchase the firmer ones and allow them to ripen at home. If they're ripe before you need to use them, refrigeration at that point will extend the life. If you're not using the whole thing at once, then use the side without the pit first. Leave the pit in the other half and give it a quick shot of vegetable spray (pan coating) and then cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating. Plastic wrap alone is still porous and will allow the avocado to oxidize and brown. Spraying with veg. spray first will help to coat the surface and protect against browning. |
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Press lightly near the stem. If it gives to the touch, but doesn't give anywhere else, it's a keeper. If it doesn't give at all near the stem, it needs more time. |
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