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I've seen this Q&A

What can I do to help my avocados ripen?

And this one

Will avocado stay fresh longer if stored in the refrigerator?

and this one

What can I do to help my avocados ripen?

but none of them answers my question which is:

I have an avocado I cut open but it's not ripe yet. Being that it's already cut what if any are my options? For the moment I poured some lemon juice on the exposed parts, put them in a container and put them in the refrigerator but I kind of get the impression they'll never get ripe in there and I should just throw them away. Being already cut it doesn't seem like I can leave them out of the refrigerator in a paper bag.

Is there any way to rescue these already cut but unripe avocados?

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    As Jolene Alaska proved with excellent rigour, lemon juice is not helpful for keeping avocado fresh, however pure vitamin C does help. And that might be an answer, but I haven't tried anything like that.
    – leftaroundabout
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 10:55
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    Thanks, that's good to know. I'm not trying to keep it fresh. I'm trying to make it ripe even though I already cut it so I can't just leave it out like an uncut avocado.
    – gman
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 11:29
  • Well, I suppose you don't want it ripe and completely spoiled though.
    – leftaroundabout
    Commented Jul 15, 2017 at 11:45
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    Avocados respond to ethylene by ripening: ethylenecontrol.com/avocado I'd put a rubber band around it to keep the halves together, and put it in a paper bag with an apple or spotted banana. 3-5 days should do it.
    – Wayfaring Stranger
    Commented Jul 16, 2017 at 23:36

3 Answers 3

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If you don't want to use the unripened avocado right away, according to this site

Store Cut Unripe Avocados - If you have cut open your... avocado and found it to be unripe, sprinkle the exposed flesh of the avocado with lemon or lime juice, place the two halves back together and cover tightly with clear plastic wrap before placing in the refrigerator. Check the avocado periodically to see if it has softened up enough to eat. Depending on firmness when the fruit was cut and temperature conditions, the ripening process will vary

Another user suggests to use vitamin C powder instead, as her experiments show the vinegar would darken the avocado.

Ironically enough, there's a solution to ripen the avocado (almost) instantly if you want to use it right away. This link talks about "instantly" ripening a foil wrapped avocado by baking it in an oven preheated to 95°C/200°F oven. Cooking time can start as low as 10 minutes. Keep checking every 10 minutes until it's soft enough for your use. After it's been in the oven, let cool and unwrap.

Note: that the taste and texture would be changed after thus heating the avocado, but it should be usable right away after baking.

There's also uses for the unripened avocado seen here

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    Hmmm. The site you quote looks good, but it recommends lemon juice, lime juice or vinegar to keep the avocado from browning. After my experimentation here, I'm not buying it. The idea of storing the halves cut-sides together makes sense, but I'd recommend Vitamin C instead of any of the acids listed.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 3:08
  • @Jolenealaska this would be edible vitamin C, yes-- not the pill form?
    – Jesse Cohoon
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 3:21
  • Either the powder (available on Amazon), or you can grind pills in a spice grinder.
    – Jolenealaska ♦
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 3:30
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    @Jolenealaska in your experiment you are missing some of the steps in the article linked to by Jesse Cohoon (above). You allowed the pieces to air dry and set 'at room temperature' for 24 hours. The technique in the linked article goes further than just coating with juice/vinegar but also seals the surface from oxidation (maybe not a 'perfect seal' but good enough). I expect that the exposure to the air in your case vs. reassemble the avocado and wrap tightly in plastic wrap made ALL of the difference.
    – Cos Callis
    Commented Jul 19, 2017 at 17:40
  • What unit is “200 degrees” in?
    – Konrad Rudolph
    Commented May 17, 2018 at 10:09
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If you can put the two halves back together with the pit in the center, vacuum seal it. This will prevent it from drying out or turning black from oxidation.

Another possible way to protect it from oxidation without affecting the taste/texture of the avocado would be to coat all the exposed area in a thick layer of avocado oil

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  • Not everyone has a vacuum sealing machine!
    – Jesse Cohoon
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 18:06
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    @JesseCohoon that doesn't make it an invalid answer. Answers don't have to be useful to everyone. Heck, they don't even have to be useful to the person who asked the question.
    – Catija
    Commented Jul 18, 2017 at 18:10
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There is one out there that says to use your microwave [1]: https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-ripen-avocados-quickly-in-a-microwave/ [1]. You use something to poke a few small holes just through the hard shell an then microwave for short periods of 30 seconds on medium to low setting, checking after every 30 interval.

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