How do you tell if an avocado is ripe?

Question

And also, can you freeze it? I want to use it to make a puree for my 6 month old daughter, but obviously she won't eat a whole avocado.

Answer 1

You should buy Avocado unripe and let it ripen at home.The unripe fruit will be dark green and hard. As they ripen they will turn dark greenish brown and become slightly soft to thumb pressure. The inner flesh will be a gorgeous lime green without any brown spots. They can be frozen, but you need to puree them first. Whole fruits, halves or slices do not freeze well, cut the fruit in half, take off the peel, take out the stone and mash or blend the flesh.

Add a little lemon juice to prevent discolouration if you want to - approximately half tablespoon of lemon juice to 2 avocados (Some people claim to freeze them without the need for lemon juice; I guess you'll have to experiment.).With baby in mind be careful of lime juice either none as experiment or sweeten to taste, watch acidity.

You can store them in freezer bags with the air pushed out or a freezer-proof container for around 4 months

Answer 2

you can tell an avocado is ripe because it starts to go soft, starting with the bit at the pointed end. You should be able to press it in a bit. Obviously the riper it is the better it will puree.
don't know about freezing, but I expect it is OK. it IS USually soft watery stuff that doesnt feeze well and even they are then ok if pureed> try a bit and see>

Answer 3

Using light pressure with your thumb, press lightly onto the skin. If it makes a slight indentation it will be fine. There is nothing wrong with getting some that are hard as rocks and checking periodically. Unfortunately the results for freezing are less successful. You are best to add some lime or lemon juice and leave the pit inside the container. If you like it as much as your daughter does it won't last long anyway.

Answer 4

ripe if the stem end is a little soft when pushed gently with a finger .. Maybe your baby won't eat the whole thing at one sitting, but you can put lemon juice over the uneaten half and wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator. Maybe she would like some more the next day. It is very pure food and good for her.

You don't like it yourself? It is really good cut into pieces and put over fresh salad greens with some sunflower seeds and maybe shredded carrot or even some pomegranate seeds and walnuts..... vinaigrette dressing over all ...

Answer 5

you could freeze a puree, just put it in a zippy bag
and you know if they are ripe if they are firm but soft, not squishy, not hard like a rock, should feel like a ripe peach, just a little give when you squeeze it gently, but if it dents its over ripe, when you cut it, cut it the long way down the center, all the way around, and to pop the pit out, just smack the knife onto the pit, and once it grabs, turn clockwise or counter clockwise.

Answer 6

An unripe avocado is green and hard, and as it ripens it starts to turn a dark purple and if you try squeezing it, it'll feel a little soft. I wouldn't try putting one in a freezer but fridges are no problem.

Answer 7

you can tell if you just push the ends if they feel soft at both end´s then it´s ripe, and I think it´s not wise to freeze avocado´s as when it defrost´s it will be all black and mushy

Answer 8

It should yield to gentle pressure, but not feel overly soft or hollow.You can freeze it, but the puree will likely turn a dark color.

Answer 9

Honestly although avocadoes are good when ripened, I'd rethink feeding it to a six month old..I don't think their digestive systems are advanced enough to handle them and you wouldn't want to make the wee one sick needlessly

Answer 10

press it, it should be soft to touch

Dont know if you could freeze it, but if you use half and keep the stone in the other half to stop it going brown then you can refrigerate it another day or so

Also i know lemon juice stops it going brown but i dont know if that would be good for a baby...if all else fails...... use it as a refreshing face mask for yourself!