Avocados are fickle beasts. There’s nothing more rewarding than deciding you want a slice of eight on your salad and it being perfectly ripe. There’s nothing worse than only being able to buy avocados harder than Zac Efron’s abs. However, there are some sneaky ways you can speed up the ripening process…
The Buddy Method
Also known as the brown paper bag method, we’re called it the buddy system thanks to the hard work of other fruits in the ripening process. Simply place your unripe and unsatisfying avocados into a brown paper bag and add a banana or apple (or a few if you feel rebellious) and roll the top down. The other fruits will produce extra ethylene gas, helping the avocado to ripen within 12 – 24 hours. YAY FRUIT FRIENDS!
The Lemon Juice Method
You know the dreadful feeling of committing to some avocado on toast and then discovering it’s way too hard to mash? Well, this is a great hack for ripening an already cut avocado! Just coat both halves of your avocado with fresh lemon juice (lime will work too), then put back together and wrap tightly in cling film. Whack it in the fridge and check back the next day. It may need a little longer depending on how hard it was when you sliced it open, but eventually it’ll ripen up nicely.
The Salt Method
If you’ve got some salt lying around (if you don’t you should probably get to a grocery store ASAP coz it’s kinda a staple), just cut open the top of the stem end of your unripe avocado, pour salt into the opening, then pop the lid back on. The next day your avocado will be ripe for the eating!
The Oven Method
This method claims to have your avocados ready and ripe within 10 minutes! All you have to do is set your oven to 90° celsius, wrap your avocados in foil (the same way you would bake a potato) and pop them in. The heat from the oven makes the green dragon eggs release ethylene gas and speeds up the ripening process. Microwaving may seem like a quicker way to do this, but it totally kills the flavour so get out your baking tray.
The Flour Method
This is a totally random one but foodies swear it works. Grab a brown paper bag and add at least two inches of flour (any kind will do) to the bottom, then drop in your avocados and roll the top down tight. Some say you should cover them entirely in flour, but whatever works for you. Within two days your avocados will be perfectly ripe.
The Sock Method
Further proof everyone struggles to get the perfectly ripe avo, someone has invented a genius device for making it ripen overnight! A former caterer invented the environmentally friendly Avocado Sock after becoming frustrated when they weren’t ready to smash into guac at events. Just pop the avo into the little $14.99 (plus shipping) woollen sock and within 24 hours it will be ripe and ready. If that’s not already awesome, the socks are produced by a social enterprise in Vancouver, Canada that employs and trains people with employment challenges. #AvoWin