How do I pick an avocado?

Question

When buying an avocado from the grocery store or farmers market how do I know when it is ripe? What are some signs I should look for to know that it is either a good or bad avocado?

Answer 1

Here is how I tell (in the store) if an Avocado is worth buying or not. I pick up the avocado in my hand, and squeeze it, but only gently. I'm looking for an avocado that is firm; it shouldn't be too soft or too hard.

As a test for the kind of firmness we're looking for, take your thumb of your left hand and with it, touch your pinky finger of the same hand (your thumb and pinky should be touching). Take your other hand, using your index finger, feel the muscle on your palm under your thumb. There should be a little give when you push it. Now squeeze your pinky and thumb together really tight! Feel your muscle again. That is the kind of firmness we are looking for.

The avocado flesh should give when you poke it when and apply a decent amount of pressure. You'll soon learn when soft is too soft, and when hard is too hard. It just takes some practice!

Answer 2

Avocados don't ripen until picked, so you may find under-ripe ones in the store; these will be hard and bright green. You can allow them to ripen at home quickly by placing them in a paper bag and sealing it. Already ripened avocados will have a bit of give to them when squeezed, without being too hard or too soft. They'll also be dark green to green-black in color.

Answer 3

The easiest way to know that an avocado is ripe is by how easy it peels. Unfortunately, you can't do that at the store. Color and firmness are good indicators of ripeness, but a bit less reliable. In my own opinion, I'd prefer to get avocados I know are unripened and ripen myself instead of risk buying overripe avocados.

There are a few things you can do to get ripe avocados fast:

1. As luls mentions, place them in a paper bag. The trapped ethylene gas will cause faster ripening.
2. If they are very unripened, throw a ripe tomato in the bag as well. The extra ethylene gas will only help to ripen the avocado quicker.

Answer 4

I got this from Rick Bayless's TV show recently: A fully ripe avocado will give when you press on the end opposite the stem. The flesh ripens/softens from the stem down, so if the end farthest from the stem gives when pressed, you can be assured the rest is at least as ripe.

As to how soft it should be? Well, that's up to you. Buy one that's soft on the end, and cut into it as soon as you get home. See if that's too soft or not soft enough. Try to remember how it worked out for you the next time you buy. Eventually you'll get a sense of how you like them.

Things to look for in an avocado:

• Make sure it has the little nub of stem still on it. If that's missing, that end will likely be all brown under the skin.
• It should give when pressed, but should not feel like it's loose inside the skin.
• Avoid ones with places that are significantly softer than the rest of the avocado.
• Avoid ones with cuts in the skin.
• Avoid ones that have obvious bruising or discolored areas in the skin.

Answer 5

Unless you are very lucky, it is almost impossible to find ripe avocados at the store. I buy 4-5 at a time and let them ripen on the kitchen counter.

When they are ripe, I store them in a zip-lock bag in the salad drawer of the refrigerator. They will keep for 1-2 weeks, but continue to ripen slowly. Eventually, they will go "bad".