How does avocado ripen at home and what to consider when choosing it?
A surprisingly tasty and healthy exotic fruit, which is shaped like a pear, has become very popular lately. Avocados like to add to salads, with it they prepare sandwiches and even make masks for hair and face. How to choose this fruit? How to store it at home? All the details read in our material.
Composition and useful properties
Avocado is an exotic fruit that has been included in the daily diet of many people. And all this, thanks to the beneficial properties that this fruit has. Despite its caloric content, this fruit is included in many diets. For one hundred grams of the product, this fruit contains two hundred and forty-five kilocalories. The fact is that avocados do not contain sugar and unhealthy fats, only the most useful.
The pulp of this fruit, which is also called the “alligator pear,” contains a large amount of oleic acid, which is beneficial to humans in that it reduces cholesterol levels in the blood. In addition, the fruit contains a large amount of vitamin E, which is considered to be a beauty vitamin. Also in the avocado contains vitamins A, C, PP, D and group B. This fruit is able to saturate the human body with useful substances, bringing only benefit.
In addition to vitamins, this fruit contains a large amount of various minerals, such as potassium, sodium and magnesium. Knowing all the beneficial properties of such a “pear”, many people consume this fruit daily, which has only a positive effect on health. Its regular use contributes to the normalization of blood circulation, reduces the risk of vascular plaque, improves heart function and helps to cope with stress.
How to choose a fruit?
Many, having learned about the beneficial properties of avocados, want to definitely buy fruit to include it in their daily diet. And here it is important to choose the right ripe fruit of high quality.
We used to see only green avocados in the pictures, but in fact there are many varieties of this fruit and they differ in color. For example, a ripe fruit may well be a dark green or yellow-green color. But there are varieties when the color of the fruit is almost black or black and purple. Therefore, when choosing fruits, one should not pay attention only to color.
To understand whether the fruit is ripe before you, you need to look at it as carefully as possible. The rind of the fetus should be flawless, that is, there should be no dents, cracks and stains on it. If there is at least a small stain on the surface of the peel, this indicates that the fruit has begun to deteriorate.
Immature avocado solid. Take the fruit in hand, gently press it with your finger. If the fruit is hard and there are no dents on the finger on the surface, then it is definitely not ripe enough. If there remains a dent from the finger, which soon disappears, then you have in your hands a ripe fruit that you can safely buy. In the event that the fruit is too soft and the hole of pressure with a finger is left, the fruit is considered to be overripe.
Choosing this fruit, remember that it deteriorates very quickly, and it will not work for a long time to keep it at home. How to properly store avocados, and how to bring to maturity unripe fruit, read on.
How to store the fruit?
At home, long time to store ripe fruit can not. You can leave it at room temperature only if you plan to eat the fruit in the coming days. And best of all, put it in the fridge; there it can be safely stored for several days.
Ripe and green
Ripe fruit is best stored in a special container for food. If there is no such thing in the house, then you can put avocados in a bag with a special clasp. Putting the fruit in such a bag, do not forget to release all the air from it. The fruit should be stored in a special box or on the shelf, which is intended for vegetables and fruits.The more ripe the fruit, the less time it can be stored, even in the refrigerator.
Unripe avocados can be stored at room temperature until the fruit is ripe. An unripe avocado should not be refrigerated, as in such conditions the fetus cannot fully reach its ripeness. Leave it to ripen right in the room. And if you want it to become ripe as quickly as possible, you need to put it in a paper bag, put it on a dark shelf and allow it to mature. Remember that a ripe fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of five to six days.
Cut
If you, having cut the fruit, understand that it is not yet ripe, then there are certain rules that will help preserve the fruit in this form. Put the halves of the fruit in the fridge for literally two days. After this time, the taste of the fruit will be more ripe and pleasant.
Leaving avocado in cut form at room temperature is not recommended, as the fruit starts to deteriorate rapidly. To avoid spoilage, sprinkle the halves of fresh fruit with the juice of fresh lemon, put them together, wrap with cling film and put in the refrigerator for several days.
Is freezing possible?
Many people used to freeze fruits and vegetables so that at any moment they could enjoy their taste again. It is not possible to freeze the whole avocado, because after defrosting it turns into a puree. Therefore, it is better to immediately make it puree and freeze.
You can decompose the mass of avocado into molds and put in the freezer. You can use the usual molds for making ice, and you can silicone, which is used to make small cookies.
Rinse the fruit thoroughly, peel and dice the flesh. Fruit mass should be crushed in a blender and immediately add a little lemon juice. This is to ensure that the avocado puree does not lose its color. You can store mashed potatoes and just in the container. In this form, you can save the fruit no more than six months.
How to help ripen?
It often happens that many acquire unripe fruit. There is a hard and unripe fruit no one wants. Therefore, you need to give it ripen in the right conditions. In order to soften the avocado and bring this fruit to ripeness, there are several proven methods.
Maybe someone wants to help ripen the fruit in an unconventional way. For example, many advise to use for this microwave. This method is strictly not recommended. It will only spoil the fruit, its taste and destroy some useful properties.
Is it possible to eat unripe?
Underripe fruit is not recommended to eat. Especially in large quantities, as this can lead to serious food poisoning. The fact is that an unripe fruit contains a large amount of toxins harmful to the human body. In addition, the skin of this fruit is considered poisonous, a person may well be poisoned by it.
And for some animals it can be a real poison. Therefore, if you like avocados and want to get only a benefit from it, then allow it to ripen and then eat.
Simple ways of ripening
There are several of them:
- Put the unripe fruit in a paper bag. And to speed up ripening, put a banana or an apple with it. This will help soften the fruit, make it soft and edible. Do not forget to check the ripeness of the fruit to avoid damage.
- This exotic fruit may well ripen in a bag of flour. It is necessary to immerse the fruit completely in flour and in a couple of days it will be excellent ripeness.
- You can also use foil. Wrap the unripe fruit in it and leave it in a dark place for a couple of days. Of course, you can just send it to a preheated oven for a few minutes. This will help the fruit to become softer, but its taste will be slightly spoiled.
- The method of ripening in the newspaper. To do this, you need to carefully wrap the fruit with a newspaper and put it in a dark place. After a few days, the avocado should be ripe. Do not forget to periodically check the fruit for ripeness.Otherwise, if the fruit is perespeet, it will be possible to make only puree.
Useful tips
And finally, some more tips to help you choose a ripe fruit and save it properly.
- If you put a banana or an apple in the bag with an avocado to ripen an exotic fruit, remember that fruits must be ripe.
- Sending to ripen the fruit on the shelf, remember that the room should not be high humidity, otherwise it will begin to deteriorate. The ideal place is a dry and dark shelf.
- The “tail” of a fruit may also indicate its ripeness. If it comes off easily and the peel of the fruit is green under it, it means that the avocado is ripe. If the peduncle is firmly held, then it is worth leaving the fruit alone until fully ripe.
- Try not to store the fruit in the open form in the refrigerator, so it becomes dark and absorbs unnecessary odors.
See how the avocado ripens at home, see the following video.