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Avocado is a fruit that is grown in tropical climates. Its widespread use began relatively recently. Many consumers are still not accustomed to the peculiarities of the culture. The choice in the store is complicated by the fact that the fruit may be unripe or overripe after long-term transportation and storage. Avocados can be ripened at home only if certain rules are followed.
How to tell if an avocado is ripe
To choose an avocado, you need to know the main signs of ripeness of this unusual fruit. It is impossible to judge the maturity of a fruit by the color of its peel, although many advise choosing dark green fruits and nothing else. There are several varieties, the most common color of which is considered to be fruit with a dark green skin, but there are varieties of light green, brown and dark brown. Main signs of maturity:
- when pressed, a dent forms, but it quickly disappears and the shape is completely restored;
- when shaking, a light tapping of the bone is heard;
- there are no dark spots or indentations in the area where the cutting was attached;
- a drop of oil may appear at the site of the cutting when pressed;
- the fruit is cut effortlessly;
- inside the pulp has an even light green tint without spots or dots;
- The bone is easily separated from the pulp.
An avocado can ripen at home, but an overripe one begins to taste bitter, become covered with black spots on the inside and quickly deteriorate.
Ripe fruit is rich in beneficial microelements. It is unique in its composition and is often recommended for regular use for serious illnesses. One of the conditions is freshness and proper use of the pulp. To help the avocado ripen, you need to be a little patient and use one of the appropriate methods.
How to quickly soften an avocado
After purchasing an unripe avocado, you can bring it to ripeness at home or make it soft enough for further cooking. To soften avocados, housewives resort to using some tricks.
Express ripening of avocados in the oven
There are times when a hard fruit needs to be quickly softened to make a homemade sauce, spread or smoothie. Then housewives use a quick way to ripen using the oven. This technique may affect the taste of the fruit.
- The fruit is pierced with a fork from all sides.
- Cover with a lid or napkin.
- Place in the microwave and turn on for 30 seconds.
If necessary, leave for another 30 seconds. After cooling, it is cut and prepared according to the recipe.The pulp is suitable for preparing traditional homemade guacamole, sauces, smoothies, and cocktails.
How to quickly ripen an avocado in the oven
The method that allows you to ripen an avocado is only suitable if you strictly adhere to the time for which it is sent to the oven. If you increase the time period, the result will be the preparation of homemade casserole.
The fruit is wrapped in aluminum foil. At the same time, make sure that there are no gaps or voids. Then it is placed in the oven and kept for 10 - 15 minutes at a temperature of 180 - 200 °C.
How to quickly ripen avocados at home
You can help ripen an avocado at home in other ways that will not change the taste and allow it to become ripe naturally. This will take several days and the creation of certain conditions.
You can speed up ripening at home by placing avocados next to the fruit. The location where the fruit is placed may also affect the ripening of the fruit. It is known that fruits are able to ripen where there is no high humidity.
An avocado can fully ripen when its pit becomes completely ripe. During the stage until this happens, the pulp performs a protective function in relation to the seed, being hard and dense.
Avocado ripening at home is a consequence of advanced biochemical processes. This is a natural mechanism that can be influenced by speeding up or slowing down. The main feature of this mechanism is the so-called fruit breathing. Stone fruits are able to breathe more intensely if you create additional stimulation factors at home.
Where to put avocados to ripen
To make avocados ripen faster at home, you can use the principle of ripening based on regulation of lighting and air temperature. The fruit is wrapped in food parchment and stored in a dark place where air humidity is maintained at an average level. Kitchen wall cabinets or shaded shelves are suitable for this.
It will take 5-7 days to ripen at home. Ripeness should be constantly checked to prevent over-ripening. When ripe, the surface will begin to spring back slightly and cease to be hard and tough to the touch.
Complete softening of the fruit indicates overripeness, so the fruit should not be brought to this state.
What to put avocado with to make it ripen
Ripening at home can be accelerated by exposure to ethylene. It is a hydrocarbon that accelerates plant growth or seed germination. Exposure to ethylene provokes several reactions:
- activation of starch hydrolysis;
- decomposition of tannins;
- softening of tissues.
All these processes lead to ripening. How to achieve ethylene treatment at home? The answer is simple. Bananas are used to ripen avocados.
You need to put the avocado in a paper bag along with 1 - 2 bananas. They emit ethylene in small quantities, which is enough to ripen 1 or 2 avocados at home.
The paper bag is tightly closed, without letting out excess air, and put away for storage. After sitting for 1 - 2 days, the fruits will become ripe. This may cause the banana skin to turn black.
How to ripen a cut avocado
It is much easier to ripen a cut avocado at home. To do this, you should follow a few simple rules.
After cutting, the bone is not removed from one half: it will speed up the ripening process in the future.
The peculiarity of the fruit is that when cut, the flesh quickly becomes covered with dark spots. This does not look very appetizing and often confuses those who purchase the fruit for the first time.
In fact, this process has a simple explanation. The iron that the pulp contains, as well as compounds of other trace elements, react chemically with oxygen, which leads to complete darkening of the pulp. The cut halves may remain unripe, be tough and bitter. To speed up the ripening process, housewives resort to some tricks.
- Avocado halves are generously coated with lemon juice.
- Then put it in a container with an airtight lid.
- Store near the back wall of the refrigerator.
- The cut should be on top.
Lemon juice slows down the oxidation process, on the one hand, and activates the softening of tissues and the breakdown of organic acids, which lead to ripening, on the other hand.
Another option for storing the cut fruit with its subsequent ripening is to generously lubricate it with olive oil. The oil softens the pulp and envelops the pores, preventing air from entering. The halves are greased with oil using a pastry brush and placed in a container. Close the container tightly and put it in the cold.
The disadvantage of this method of ripening avocados is that it is impossible to determine ripeness by appearance. In order to understand whether the fruit has reached the degree of maturity that was needed, it has to be taken out of the container and tasted.
A cut avocado can be ripened using onions. The tandem of vegetables and fruits activates the process of tissue softening.At the same time, the smell of onions does not penetrate the pores of the avocado and does not change its taste characteristics.
- The onion is cut into rings and placed on the bottom of the container.
- Place half an avocado on top, cut side up.
- Close the container tightly and put it in the refrigerator.
How to make an avocado ripening chamber
The ripening methods listed above are good if we are talking about several fruits. If it is necessary to ripen several kilograms of avocado naturally, then special chambers are used.
In order for avocados to ripen faster at home, you need to choose a heated room with the ability to make shelves there for chambers with fruit. If it is possible to supply ethylene or oxygen, the ripening time can be significantly accelerated.
Open, well-ventilated chambers are placed on the premises where the following conditions can be ensured:
- air temperature - from +22 to +25 °C;
- relative air humidity - from 80 to 90%;
- lack of daylight, dim artificial lighting.
Completely unripe fruits can ripen in 7 days; when ethylene or oxygen is supplied, the period is reduced to 2 - 3 days.
Conclusion
You can ripen avocados at home using several methods. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the cut halves may change the taste due to the influence of additional ingredients. You should not cut hard fruit; it is better to leave it immediately so that it can ripen naturally.
