How to choose a ripe avocado. Tips from experienced.
HOW TO CHOOSE A RIPE AVOCADO.
Tips from experienced
Avocado fruits are healthy and tasty, but it is often very difficult to choose a good fruit in the store - because they look almost the same. Together with the chef, we tell you how to buy the right avocado.
Over the past few years, avocado has become very popular. And quite deservedly - it is rich in potassium, antioxidants, useful fats and vitamins. This is a very nutritious product: 160 kcal per 100 g. Nevertheless, doctors include avocados in many diets - because polyunsaturated fats in it help reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Usually avocados are used as a component of sandwiches, for example, with poached egg or red fish, or added to salads and bowls. One of the most popular recipes is Mexican guacamole salad sauce. It is made from crumpled avocado, which adds tomatoes, red onions, lime juice, garlic and spices. Butter is also squeezed out of the avocado.
Types of avocado.
There are dozens of varieties of avocados in the world, and most of them are not imported into Russia. In general, they differ slightly in the composition and content of nutrients. On our counters you can find the following varieties:
Fuerte — is oblong and quite large pear-shaped fruits with a smooth, well-separable green skin. The pulp is oily, with a taste of hazelnuts. The point is medium or small. Sold in summer and autumn.
Oettinger — is an elongated drop-shaped fruit of small size with a thin and smooth green skin. This is one of the most delicious types of avocado - its pulp has a delicate nutty taste. But there is a significant drawback - a very large bone. In addition, such avocados are difficult to clean. Season in autumn and in the first half of winter.
Huss — is oval or round fruits. The skin is bumpy, the immature fruit has dark green or brown color, and the mature fruit has blue-black. The pulp is fatty, with a nutty taste. The bone is usually small. Such avocados can often be found in Russia. They tolerate storage and transportation well, so it is sold all year round. The season is winter and autumn.
Gwen — is like Huss, but they have a dark green skin more. Sold in summer and autumn.
Bacon — is a small or medium-sized fruit with a smooth brown or dark green skin. The pulp is low-fat and watery, the seeds are large. Season from November to March.
Zutano — is a small medium-sized pear-shaped avocado with a medium bone. The pulp is not as fatty as in other varieties. A distinctive feature is a shiny yellow-green skin. Can be found from mid-autumn to February.
Reed — is a large round avocado with a dark green speckled skin. Unlike other varieties, it does not change the color of the peel when ripening. Season from May to October.
How to choose the right avocado.
Pay attention to the color. As a rule, ripe avocados are darker than immature ones. However, this does not apply to all varieties.
Examine the avocado skin. It should be smooth, without dents, dark spots, cuts or "sicknesses". The crumpled avocado will almost always be brown inside. At the same time, the texture of the skin is not important and depends only on the variety - some avocados have bumpy and others have smooth.
Bend the peduncle and look under it. If the pulp is brown, the avocado may be overripe. If it's green, then you can take it.
Remember that it's better to take an immature avocado than a spoiled one.
You can often hear advice to put pressure on the avocado to check its ripeness. We do not recommend doing this, as the crumpled fruit spoils even before it matures. If you still decide to touch it, press very weakly, as if you were clicking on the button on the computer mouse - this will be quite enough. In addition, it will be safer for the avocado itself if you press the narrow part next to the peduncle, not on the side.
If the fruit is soft but springy, it is ripe and you can buy it to eat today or tomorrow. If the avocado is solid, it is most likely that it is still immature, and will be in perfect condition in 4-7 days. If it's too soft, it's probably already overslept.
How to choose an avocado with a small bone.
There are two rules here that seem somewhat contradictory, but work.
Pay attention to the variety. As a rule, avocados of round varieties, such as Hass, ghen or read, have fewer bones, and oblong ones, such as bacon or ettinger, have more bones.
From a variety of avocados of the same variety, choose the most elongated ones - usually such bones have less than rounded fruits.
How to choose Haas avocados?
All the same rules work here:
Pay attention to the color. If you need ripe Hass avocado varieties, take blue-black or purple. If you don't use it right away, greenish or brownish is better suited.
Prefer oblong - maybe he'll have a small bone.
What should I do if the avocado is unripe?
The maturation of avocado depends on ethylene, a gas that destroys its inner walls and turns starch into sugar. Under normal conditions, it stands out slowly, which allows you to store avocados for a long time. But this process can be accelerated.
Put the avocado in a paper or plastic bag. Gas will not emit more, but will dissipate less.
Put another fruit in the bag - an apple, kiwi or banana. They also emit ethylene, which will begin to absorb avocados, we also recommend putting avocados in rice or flour.
Put the avocado in the heat - so ethylene will become released faster. In the refrigerator, on the contrary, this process will slow down.
If you need to soften the avocado very quickly, you can heat it in the oven. Wrap the fruit in foil and place it in an oven heated to 90-100 °C for 10-30 minutes - the time depends on the degree of hardness of the fruit.
You can also heat it up in the microwave - two minutes in strong mode are enough. After that, put the avocado in cold water to stop the decay processes.