Saturday, May 8, 2010

Quickly Ripen Avocados


Here is a tip to quickly ripen avocados.
Tip:
- Place 2-3 avocados in a paper sack overnight.

Here is a tip to ripen avocados even quicker.
Tip:
- Place a tomato or an apple in the paper bag with the avocados.

Here is a tip to use in an emergency only situation which "ripens" them immediately.
Tip:
- Nuke them. Prick the avocado all over with a fork and microwave it in 30 second intervals on half power until soft.


Due to an emergency situation I found myself in, I used this last tip. I put "ripen" in quotes because this does not actually ripen the avocado. It softens it enough that you can use it for guacamole or in another mix. The avocado has a very mild taste and doesn't work well on its own if used this way.

My experience:
The avocados softened in spots but I never got the entire avocado soft. It had an unpleasant smell, but this leaves once the avocado cools. I tried using a potato masher to smooth it all out, but it wasn't enough. I ended up using a blender (I couldn't find all the parts to my food processor) and pureed it a little at a time with mayonnaise (also in the recipe I was using). I made a terrible mess and it took a lot of time since it was for five avocados, but it did work and no one was the wiser.
I would definitely recommend just buying ripe avocados, but in this emergency it did work.

1 comment:

  1. I put mine in a paper bag overnight, expecting it would take several days to ripen, but when I cut them up for a salad the next day, they were absolutely perfect! I think I'd rather buy them green from now on, and just ripen them overnight, instead of try to guess at the black ones' ripeness.

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