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Avocado is a fruit that is grown in tropical climates. Its wide distribution began relatively recently. Many consumers are still not accustomed to the peculiarities of the culture. Choosing in the store is complicated by the fact that the fruit may be immature or overripe after long-term transportation and storage. Avocados can only ripen at home 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 ripeness of the fruit by the color of the peel, although many advise to choose dark green fruits and nothing else. There are several varieties, the most common color among which is considered to be fruits with a dark green skin, but there are varieties of light green, brown and dark brown colors. The main signs of maturity:
- when pressed, a dent is formed, but it quickly disappears, the shape is completely restored;
- when shaking, a slight tapping of the bone is heard;
- in the area where the stalk was attached, there are no dark spots, indentations;
- a drop of oil may be released in the place of the cutting when pressed;
- the fruit is cut effortlessly;
- inside, the pulp has an even light green tint without spots and 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 dots from the inside and quickly deteriorate.
Ripe fruit is rich in useful microelements. It is unique in its composition and is often recommended for regular use in case of serious illnesses. One of the conditions is freshness and proper use of the pulp. To help the avocados ripen, you need to be patient and use one of the appropriate methods.
How to quickly soften an avocado
After purchasing an unripe avocado, you can bring it to maturity at home or make it soft enough for further cooking. To soften the avocado, housewives resort to using some tricks.
Express ripening avocado in the oven
There are times when the hard fruit needs to be quickly softened to make homemade sauce, pasta or cocktail. Then the housewives use a quick way to ripen using the oven. This technique can 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 making traditional homemade guacomole, sauces, smoothies, cocktails.
How to quickly ripen an avocado in the oven
The method that allows the avocado to ripen is only suitable if the exact time at which it is sent to the oven is observed. If you increase the time interval, then the result will be the preparation of a 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 an avocado at home
You can help ripen your avocado at home in other ways that will not change the taste and will naturally ripen. This will take several days and the creation of certain conditions.
You can speed up ripening at home by placing the avocado next to the fruit. The ripening of the fruit can also be influenced by the place where it lies. It is known that fruits are capable of ripening where there is no high humidity.
An avocado can fully ripen when its seed is fully ripe. During the stage, until this happens, the pulp performs a protective function in relation to the seed, being tough and dense.
The ripening of avocados at home is a consequence of the running biochemical processes. It is a natural mechanism that can be influenced by accelerating or decelerating it. The main feature of this mechanism is the so-called fruit breathing. Stone fruits are able to breathe more intensively if additional stimulation factors are created at home.
Where to put the avocado for ripening
To make the avocado ripen faster at home, you can use the ripening principle based on the regulation of lighting and air temperature. The fruit is wrapped in food parchment and stored in a dark place where the air humidity is kept at an average level. Wall-mounted kitchen cabinets or shaded shelves are suitable for this.
For ripening at home, it will take 5 - 7 days. Ripeness should be checked constantly to prevent overripening. When ripe, the surface will begin to spring slightly, it ceases to be hard and tough to the touch.
Complete softening of the fruit indicates overripening, therefore, the fruit should not be brought to such a state.
What to put an avocado with to make it ripe
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 processing at home? The answer is simple. Bananas are used to ripen avocados.
Place the avocado in a paper bag along with 1 to 2 bananas. They release ethylene in small amounts, which is enough to ripen 1 or 2 avocados at home.
The paper bag is tightly closed, not letting out excess air, and put away for storage. After the neighborhood for 1 - 2 days, the fruit will become ripe. This may cause the banana skin to turn black.
How to ripen a cut avocado
Ripening a cut avocado at home is much easier. To do this, follow a few simple rules.
After cutting, the bone is not removed from one half: it will accelerate the ripening process in the future.
The peculiarity of the fruit lies in the fact that when cut, the pulp quickly becomes covered with dark spots. This does not look very appetizing and often confuses those who first bought the fruit.
In fact, this process has a simple explanation. Iron, which contains the pulp, as well as compounds of other trace elements enter into a chemical reaction with oxygen, which leads to a complete darkening of the pulp. The cut halves can be unripe, tough and bitter. To speed up the ripening process, housewives resort to some tricks.
- The avocado halves are generously greased with lemon juice.
- Then put away in a container with a sealed lid.
- Store near the back of the refrigerator.
- The slice should be on top.
Lemon juice slows down the oxidation process, on the one hand, 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 considered to be abundant lubrication with olive oil. The oil softens the pulp and coats the pores, preventing air from entering. The halves are oiled with a cooking brush and placed in a container. The container is tightly closed, removed in the cold.
The disadvantage of this method of ripening for an avocado is the inability to determine ripeness by appearance. In order to understand whether the fruit has reached the degree of ripeness that was needed, it has to be taken out of the container and tasted.
Cut avocado can be ripened with onions. The tandem of a vegetable and a fruit 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 up.
- The container is tightly closed and put into the refrigerator.
How to make an avocado ripening chamber
The ripening methods listed are good when it comes to multiple fruits. If it is necessary to bring several kilograms of avocados to ripening naturally, then special cameras are used.
To make the avocado ripen at home faster, you need to choose a heated room with the ability to make shelves for fruit chambers there. If it is possible to supply ethylene or oxygen, the ripening time can be noticeably accelerated.
Open, well-ventilated chambers are placed in 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, dimmed artificial lighting.
Fully unripe fruits can ripen in 7 days, with the supply of ethylene or oxygen, 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 can change the taste due to the influence of additional ingredients. You should not cut the hard fruit, it is better to leave it right away so that it can ripen naturally.
