Avocados

Each of my smoothie recipes employs avocado. It doesn't add much flavor but adds significantly to the texture and satisfaction of the smoothie.

However, getting the right avocados can be difficult. I want to share some of my tips for choosing and maintaining great avocados.

I use the Large Hass variety of avocado in my smoothies, but only because I have never seen any other varieties in stores. I typically get my avocados from Costco, but those are often still green and not ripe. If I need a ripe avocado right away then I will buy some from a regular supermarket.

To pick a ripe avocado, I look to see if the avocado is a darker color--typically a rich brown or sometimes red--instead of the vibrant green of an unripened avocado. I pick up an avocado and squeeze lightly; it should have a little bit of give (meaning it squishes a little bit). That's when I know that it is ripe and ready to be used.

If an avocado has too much give, then it might be over-ripened. I find that the flesh of such avocados are streaked with brown which take away from the flavor.

If I buy multiple ripened avocados then I will keep the remainder in the fridge so that the ripening process slows down and they will last longer.

When harvesting, avocados are typically picked before they are ripe. They can ripen on their way to the store, or they can be refrigerated to prolong their lives. Costco avocados are refrigerated until they are delivered to the store, so they are frequently unripened at the time I purchase them.

When I buy avocados at Costco, I have no way of knowing when they will be ripe. Sometimes they will sit on the counter for weeks before they start to ripen, which can be pretty frustrating. I mentioned that to someone during checkout and they said to put the avocados in a paper bag and then they'll ripen more quickly. "That's what we did back in Cali'."

Because I do not have a supply of paper bags at home, but periodically I get boxes from Amazon, I decided to use a cardboard box to help ripen my avocados. It works great! I put the avocados in the box, close it up by placing a light object on top of the box, and then--using the squeeze test to check on their ripeness--I check on the avocados every day or two. The avocados will often ripen within 2 days, but sometimes it will take as many as 5.

Once the avocados are ripe I transfer them to the fridge so they don't quickly over-ripen. They'll last a few weeks in the fridge, but since I make 1-2 smoothies per day I typically go through 10 avocados a week and the avocados don't have time to spoil. I have a steady stream of avocados going from Costco, to cardboard, to fridge, to smoothie (not to mention the grower, picker, shipper, and anyone else who helps it get to the floor of my local Costco).