Tell if an Avocado Is Ripe

Oops, you just sliced open an avocado only to find that it is not quite ripe yet! This article will give you some tips on how to tell if an avocado is ripe and ready for eating.

10 Second Summary

1. Consider when the avocado was harvested.
2. Look for a dark color, but keep the variety in mind.
3. Gently squeeze the fruit. It should not be too hard or too mushy.
4. Shake it and listen. If it rattles, it is overripe.
5. Pull the stem off. If the avocado underneath is green, it's ripe.

Steps

Checking the Appearance

  1. Know your variety. No two avocado varieties are the same. There will be slight differences in size, color, and shape depending on the variety. The appearance of a ripe avocado will vary based on the avocado you are selecting.[1]
    • Check with the grocer or seller if the avocado variety is not clearly marked.
    • Also note the firmness of a ripe avocado remains essentially the same regardless of the specific variety.
    • The differences between varieties, as well as the possible differences between specific fruits within the same variety, cause appearance to be a less-than-foolproof method of determining ripeness. Still, these signs are helpful to know since they are often your first indication about how ripe an avocado is.
  2. Consider when the avocado was harvested. Different varieties are more commonly harvested during different parts of the season. If you are picking out avocados in September and are given the option between a variety harvested in early fall and one harvested in late fall, the variety harvested in early fall is more likely to be ripe.
    • Bacon avocados are usually available from late fall into the spring and are considered to be a mid-winter variety.
    • Fuerte avocados are also harvested from late fall through spring.
    • Gwen avocados are most commonly harvested during fall and winter.
    • Hass and Lamb Hass avocados are harvested year-round.
    • Pinkerton avocados are available from early winter through spring.
    • Reed avocados are available throughout summer and early fall.
    • Zutano avocados mature between the beginning of September through early winter.
  3. Note the size and shape. Before an avocado can be ripe, it must be mature. Within each variety, a mature avocado will usually fall within a certain size range and shape.
    • Bacon avocados are medium in size, ranging from 6 to 12 oz (170 to 340 g). They are oval.
    • Fuerte avocados are medium to large when mature, ranging anywhere from 5 to 14 oz (142 to 397 g). They are oblong in appearance than bacon avocados but are still slightly pear shaped.
    • Gwen avocados can be medium to large, running from 6 to 15 oz (170 to 425 g). They are plump, stout ovals.
    • Hass avocados can be medium to large, ranging from 5 to 12 oz (142 to 340 g). They are also oval.
    • Lamb Hass avocados are large, ranging in size from 11.75 to 18.75 oz (333 to 532 g). They are pear-shaped and symmetrical.
    • Pinkerton avocados are long and pear-shaped. They weigh between 8 and 18 oz (227 and 510 g).
    • Reed avocados are medium to small, ranging from 8 to 18 oz (227 to 510 g). They are the roundest variety available.
    • Zutano avocados are medium to large, usually weighing between 6 and 14 oz (170 and 397 g). They are skinny and pear shaped.
  4. Examine the color. The color of the outer peel will be dark with most varieties, but each variety be subtly different.
    • Bacon avocados and Fuerte avocados have smooth, thin green skin.
    • Gwen avocados have a dull, pliable, and pebbly green skin when ripe.
    • Hass avocados and Lamb Hass avocados have the most distinctive color. A ripe Hass avocado will be deep green to purple when ripe. A black avocado will likely be overripe, though, just as if a vibrant green avocado is likely to be under ripe.
    • Like Hass avocados, Pinkerton avocados deepen in color as it ripens. A ripe Pinkerton avocado will usually be a deep green.
    • Reed avocados keep their vibrant green coloring even when ripe. The skin is usually thick with mild pebbling.
    • Zutano avocados have thin, yellow-green skin when ripe.
  5. Avoid dark blemishes. Dark blemishes can be a sign of bruises or overripe spots.
    • In general, you should check for even coloring and even texture. Any avocado that is uneven in either regard either has gone bad or has been damaged. Either way, the quality of the fruit will have gone down.

Checking the Firmness

  1. Hold the avocado in the palm of your hand. Do not grab the avocado with your fingertips. Instead, you should hold the fruit directly in the palm of your hand.
    • If you press on the fruit with your fingertips or thumb, you might cause bruising.[2] An unripe avocado is too hard to bruise, but a ripe avocado is not. By holding it with your palm, you spread out the pressure, thereby minimizing it and reducing the risk of bruising.
  2. Gently squeeze the fruit. Use your palm and the base of your fingers to apply gently, even pressure to the avocado.
    • When you press the avocado, if it is ripe, it should yield to a minimal amount of pressure. The skin should “give” slightly but should not remain indented.
    • If the avocado feels mushy, it has become overripe.
    • If the avocado feels firm, it is still under ripe.
  3. Squeeze in several places. Turn the fruit a quarter of a rotation and squeeze again, once more using the palm of your hand and the base of your fingers to apply gentle pressure.
    • It is possible the first place you press could be bruised, giving the impression the avocado is ripe or overripe as a result. To verify that this is not the case, squeeze the avocado in different locations and compare the firmness of the fruit. A ripe avocado without bruises will have an even softness.

Checking Beneath the Stem

  1. Give the avocado a gentle shake. Place the avocado near your ear and lightly shake it a few times to determine if there is any rattling going on inside.
    • If the flesh feels soft and you are worried that it might be overripe instead of merely being ripe, shaking the avocado is a good way to check without cutting it open.
    • The inner pit will pull away from the inside of the flesh once the fruit becomes overripe. As a result, the fruit will rattle once you shake it. If you hear a rattling noise when you shake an avocado, odds are, the fruit has already become overripe.[3]
  2. Pull the stem out. Pinch the stem between your index, thumb, and quickly pluck it out.
    • You will have no difficult plucking out the stem of a ripe avocado.
    • If the avocado is still unripe, you might not be able to remove the stem without cutting it. Do not use a knife or other tool to cut the stem off. If you cannot pluck the stem off with your fingers, then the avocado is not yet ripe and ready to eat.
  3. Check the color beneath the stem. If the stem does twist off, you must look for the trademark green flesh of the avocado beneath it.[4]
    • If the avocado is a light yellow or brown, the flesh is still under ripe.
    • If the avocado beneath the stem is a dark brown, the avocado may already be overripe.

What to Do with a Cut, Unripe Avocado

  1. Consider your options. If you cut into an avocado thinking that it was ripe only to discover otherwise, you might be able to save it, especially if the avocado is nearly ripe but not there.
    • Note that you might not be successful, however. Refrigeration slows the ripening process, so you might have a hard time getting an avocado to ripen in the refrigerator. That said, refrigeration is necessary to prevent spoilage after the fruit has been cut open.
  2. Brush both sides of the avocado with lemon juice. Use a pastry brush to apply about 1 Tbsp (15 ml) of lemon juice or lime juice to the exposed flesh of your cut avocado.
    • When you cut the avocado open, you break apart the cellular walls of the flesh and trigger oxidation. The best way to slow oxidation is to apply an acidic agent to the flesh.
  3. Place the halves back together. Fit the halves back together as accurately as possible.
    • Another way to slow oxidation is to minimize the amount of exposed flesh. By fitting the halves back together, you cover the flesh of both sides as much as possible.
  4. Tightly wrap the avocado in plastic wrap. Wrap several layers of plastic wrap around the avocado to create an airtight seal.
    • The airtight seal limits the amount of oxygen the flesh will be exposed to, which, as a result, slows down the oxidation process.
    • You could also use an airtight container, airtight resealable plastic bag, or vacuum sealed plastic bag.
  5. Refrigerate until ripe. Since the avocado has already been cut open, you will need to store it in the refrigerator as it finishes ripening to prevent the fruit from going bad.
    • The avocado should ripen within a few days. If it begins to turn soft or brown, however, you might need to throw it away.

Tips

  • To ripe an unripe avocado, place it on the counter at room temperature for several days. Refrigeration halts the ripening process, so you should not store unripe avocados in the refrigerator unless they have already been cut open.
  • Avocados ripen after they are harvested. If you are picking an avocado off a tree, you should pick a large one with even, dark coloring and a firm texture. After picking it, you will need to let the fruit harden on the counter for 2 to 7 days before it will be ripe and ready to eat.
  • If you do not plan to eat the avocado immediately, it is in your best interest to buy an avocado that is still unripened. A ripe avocado will usually only last for a few days in the refrigerator.
  • To speed up the ripening process, place the avocado in a brown bag with an apple or a banana. The apple or banana will release ethylene gas, a hormone related to ripening, and the avocado will ripen faster when exposed to the ethylene.[5]

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.californiaavocado.com/avocado-variety-browser/
  2. ↑ http://www.avocadocentral.com/how-to/how-to-pick-how-to-buy-avocados
  3. ↑ http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodtip&dbid=16
  4. ↑ http://www.yumsugar.com/How-Tell-Avocado-Ripe-16132798
  5. ↑ http://www.californiaavocado.com/how-to-choose-and-use/
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