• Home
  • About
    • About me
    • About Nutritionists
    • About this Site
    • Disclaimer
  • Your Kitchen Guide
    • Choosing Fruit & Veg
    • Kitchen Cupboard
    • Knife Skills
    • Cooking Measurements
  • Meat-Free Recipes
    • Vegan & Vegetarian Spice Recipes
  • Topics
    • Lifestyle & Dieting
    • Men’s Health
    • Nutrition & Mental Health
    • Sports & Exercise Nutrition
    • Nutrition & Physical Health
    • Vitamins, Minerals & Nutrients
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • RSS Feed

Search

it's about nutrition

Evidence-Based Look at Diets & Nutrition

Fruit & Vegetables  /  April 29, 2017

Avocado

Share

 

avocado-1287100_12808There’s nothing worse than buying an avocado, getting it home, cutting it up, only to find it’s so rubbery you could bounce it off the floor. It’s one of the reasons I’ve found that so many people won’t buy them. But life doesn’t have to be like this, you just need a little bit of knowledge on how best to choose your avocado before you buy it.

First, the avocado should be a darkish green; as avocados ripen, their skin darken. But with so many different varieties available, that might not be the easiest test.

Now supermarkets will hate me for saying this, but the best test is to gently push your thumb into the thickest part of the fruit, the base. It should leave a small indentation and the fruit should generally feel soft in your hand (not too soft; if it’s over-ripe, it won’t last when you get it home and could just be a brown mess when you cut into it).

When you cut into the fruit, the knife should slide in easily. Cut the fruit from top to bottom, guiding the knife around the stone in the middle. Then twist one half and the two parts should easily come apart, leaving the stone in one side. If you only want to use half of the avocado, put the half with the stone in (don’t remove it) into the fridge tightly sealed in film wrap. This will stop it from browning, and you can keep it fresh for about another 24 hours.

If you don’t want to use your avocado straight away, then buy a firmer fruit and let it sit on the counter top (away from other fruits like apples or bananas) for a day or two, and keep checking with your thumb until you can feel it is ripe to eat. Don’t squeeze the fruit, it will bruise, and you’ll have big chunks of unappetising brown spots when you cut into it.

If you need to ripen it quickly, put the fruit into a brown paper bag along with something else like a banana or apple – these fruits speed up the ripening of other fruits by emitting gases (hence why you should generally keep them apart).

The half you are using now can be mashed inside the skin, scooped out of the skin with a spoon, or peeled then sliced or chopped.

Seb Bowden

Seb is a writer and blogger of food and nutrition. He holds a bachelors and a masters degree in nutrition science, and has studied sports and exercise nutrition at postgraduate level. He specialises in plant-based nutrition and believes passionately that we can all live with a little less meat. He writes for www.veggieandspice.com and www.itsaboutnutrition.com

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Tags:

  • avocado

Post navigation

Can gut bacteria influence your energy levels?
Clementines

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Your details will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement

Most Read

  • Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?Can Diet Cause Man-Boobs?
  • Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?Should Men Avoid Flax and Soya?
  • Caponata your way!Caponata your way!
  • MelonsMelons
  • Flexitarianism - What's the Deal?Flexitarianism – What’s the Deal?

Translate

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google

So what do you think? Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Creative Commons Licence
It's About Nutrition by Seb Bowden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Cressida by LyraThemes.com
Share
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: