How to choose an avocado: reliable ways

Avocados are a valuable source of healthy fats, vitamins and antioxidants, which is popular with fans of healthy eating. However, it can be difficult to choose a really ripe and delicious fruit in a store: it is easy to purchase either an unripe or already spoiled fruit. In order not to make a mistake, you need to pay attention to several key signs: the color of the peel, the density of the fruit, the condition of the peduncle and weight. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Checking for softness

One of the most reliable ways to determine the ripeness of an avocado is to check its softness. Ripe fruit should yield to pressure, but at the same time remain elastic and regain its shape. It is important to press not with your fingertips, but with your pads or the whole palm, so as not to damage the tender flesh.

The perfect ripe avocado feels like the skin on your forehead or the back of your hand: it is gently pressed through a couple of millimeters, and then firmness is felt. Pressure should be applied in several places, since the ripe fruit is equally soft on all sides. If it is firm somewhere, and it is strongly pressed somewhere, part of the pulp has already deteriorated and there will be brown spots inside.

The stone-hard avocado is clearly unripe and will be ready for consumption in 4-7 days. Too soft, as if mushy from the inside, the fruit is already overripe and probably spoiled.

Inspection of the peduncle

The attachment point of the peduncle is an important indicator of avocado quality. To check the ripeness, you need to carefully remove the stalk and look at the trace under it. In a ripe fruit, this place will be light green or yellowish.

Signs of avocado condition by stem color:

• light green flesh under the stalk — the fruit is ripe and ready to eat;

• dark brown or black flesh - the avocado is overripe or spoiled​;
  the stalk does not come off — the fruit is not ripe yet.;

• the presence of mold under the stem is definitely not worth taking an avocado.

The peduncle itself and its attachment point should be light, without dark spots. This is one of the most reliable ways to determine the quality of the fruit before buying.

Evaluation of the peel color

The color of the peel is an important, but not the only indicator of the ripeness of an avocado. The shade depends on the variety: it can vary from light green in the fuerte variety to almost black in the hass avocado. As a rule, ripe fruits are darker than unripe ones.

The unripe fruit is usually light green and hard to the touch. Ripe avocados have a dark green or brownish color with a slight softness. Overripe fruit is too dark in color with black spots on the peel.

The skin should be evenly colored, smooth, without dents, dark spots, cuts and damages. Even a small scratch that breaks the integrity of the peel triggers accelerated fruit spoilage. Brown streaks on the surface do not affect the taste — they only indicate damage during growth.

Checking the weight and sound

It is quite difficult to determine the ripeness of an avocado by weight, but this method can be used as an additional one. If the fetus visually seems heavier than it feels in your hands, it probably hasn't reached the right condition yet. If it feels excessively heavy, the avocado is probably already overripe.

An unusual but effective way to check maturity is by shaking the fruit. In ripe avocados, the core often easily detaches from the pulp. If you hold such a fruit to your ear and shake it slightly, you can hear the muffled sound of a stone.

The correct shape of the fruit is pear—shaped and elongated, no more than 20 cm. The weight of a large ripe avocado is about 300 g, but fruits of medium and small size weighing from 100 to 200 g are of particular value. They are distinguished by the highest concentration of useful substances, and their pulp taste is more saturated.

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Characteristics of the pulp

The flesh of a high-quality ripe avocado has a delicate green color, turning into a yellow shade closer to the core. The fresh fruit has a large, thick-boned stone with a dense core and a bronze-brown or dark olive color.

An avocado with a dry skin and dark spots that is too soft to the touch is not worth buying. Most likely, the fruit has been lying on the shelf for a long time, overripe and lost its useful properties. A crushed fruit spoils even before it has time to ripen.

Experts recommend taking an unripe avocado rather than a spoiled one. The hard fruit can be left to ripen at room temperature for several days, and it will reach the desired condition. Overripe avocados can no longer be restored.

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