Avocados have become a staple in diets around the world. The versatile green food is often smothered on toast for a delicious breakfast, whipped up in smoothies, or paired with gourmet meals.
The UK imports avocados from many countries, including Peru, South Africa, Chile, Israel, and Spain. While avocados are often seasoned with salts and spices and consumed alongside vegetables, they’re biologically fruits since they contain seeds.
With the price of food on the rise and the average avocado costing close to £1 each, it’s sometimes hard to justify buying them if you can’t make them last more than a few days. The temperamental fruit doesn’t stay ripe for long, which can mean wasting food.
Because of this food’s popularity, experts have devised some simple solutions to help give your avocados the best chance of seeing more meals. Karl Graham, a food storage expert at Click Storage, has explained how to double an avocado’s lifespan.
This simple process uses scientific reactions to preserve the inside of the avocado. Karl said: “Only a few materials are needed to extend its life and continue enjoying this delicious fruit, all while absorbing its healthy benefits.”
One way to help your avocados is making sure they’re 100% ripe before cutting them open. Just allow them time to become perfect for eating by sitting at room temperature before doing anything with them for the best results.
You can tell if an avocado is ripe if you can press on the skin and it doesn’t leave any indentations behind. While most fruit become very vibrant when ripe, like bananas, an avocado does the opposite and should look “dark green to almost black”.
Karl added another key way to check for sure if the avocado is ready. He said: “If the stem can be easily removed from the top of the avocado and the flesh underneath is green, it’s ripe.”
When you have your fruit ready to preserve, there are three easy tips to help it stay fresh for longer. One tip involves the help of another fruit that’s as cheap at 30p.
Karl explained that, once ripe, cut the avocados in half and lightly brush the flesh of the avocado with lime or lemon juice. Citrus juice contains citric acid, which helps to slow down the oxidation process that causes avocados to turn brown.
He said: “When avocados are exposed to air, enzymes in the fruit react with oxygen, turning the flesh brown. The citric acid in citrus juice helps to inhibit these enzymes, preserving the green colour of the avocado.”
Once coated, put the avocado into the fridge in an airtight container. This is because cold temperatures slow down avocado ripening process, therefore giving you a much longer shelf life.
When avocados are correctly stored, they can stay fresh longer, reducing the likelihood of spoilage and waste. This means that fewer resources, such as water and land, are needed to produce and transport new batches of avocados to replace wasted ones.
Proper storage of avocados can also save money in the long run. When stored correctly, avocados can be kept for several days or even weeks. This means you can buy avocados in bulk or take advantage of sales without worrying about them going bad as quickly.
