Avocados are a summer staple and are the perfect addition to any breakfast, but there is nothing worse than slicing into the fruit to discover it has become brown and spoiled.
It can be frustrating to waste money and food but it turns out many people have been storing their avocados wrong as they should never be kept in water.
Amy Lynn Cross, a cook and founder of The Cross Legacy, has shared that keeping avocados in water is a popular food storage hack on social media, but it will only encourage bacteria which will contaminate the fruit.
She said: “These tips show people storing whole and halved avocados in water to keep them fresh longer. It has been all over social media. In reality, it could be making you sick.”
Instead, there is a much safer and more efficient way to keep avocados fresh for up to a month longer.
How to properly store avocados to keep them fresh for longer
Rather than having to throw away spoiled fruit, the best way to store avocados is to wash them properly to get rid of bacteria, dry them and then place them in an air-tight container.
Amy said: “My ‘secret elixir’ for washing avocados is actually quite simple and easy on the budget. It’s composed of two ingredients: cool water and five percent distilled white vinegar.”
It may seem strange but washing avocados as well as other fruits in a vinegar solution will kill any bacteria or contamination in the skin to help extend the shelf life.
To begin, remove any stickers from the avocado skins and then place them in a bowl filled with cold water and 60ml of white vinegar.
Set a timer for exactly two minutes before adding the avocados, and make sure not to let the fruit sit for any longer otherwise, it can risk being able to taste the vinegar in the fruit.
Once the time is up rinse off the vinegar solution with tap water and then allow the avocados to sit and air dry.
Make sure they are completely dry before storing avocados otherwise, it can risk bacteria and mould growing on the fruit.
Then, if your avocados are unripe then store them in a fruit bowl but if they are ripe keep them in the fridge as cold temperatures will stop them from ripening.
For best results, store avocados next to your lemons as both fruits complement each other and stop each other from ripening quickly while storing avocados next to apples or bananas will cause the fruit to ripen quickly.
Amy said: “I have always stored my avocados in a drawer next to my lemons. It turns out that they help each other last longer.
“I won’t get into the science behind this here, but unlike lemons, apples and bananas do not mix well with avocados. They speed up the ripening process.”
