How to stop your avocados going brown (+ four other avo tips)

Avocado is anything but your avo-rage fruit. (And yes, it is a fruit. A berry to be precise.) 

As well as a starring role in guacamole, avocado has a few other claims to fame. For example, did you know that the word avocado derives from the Aztec for testicle? That most avocados are the size of a baby in its mother’s womb at four months? Or that the UK has only had avocados since the 1960s, when Sainsbury’s imported them as “avocado pears”?

Oh and it’s also packed with health benefits. From explaining why it’s just so damn good for you, to a couple of tricks on ripening them quickly, these five avo tips will “guac” your world. 

1. Are avocados really that good for you?

Yes! They are rich in good monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), which have been shown to protect against metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Avocados also contain fibre for good digestion, several B-vitamins essential for cell metabolism and inflammation-fighting antioxidants.

 A caveat! Don’t go too overboard as avocados are calorie dense. Use them to crowd out the desire for processed, sugary food but if you are trying to manage your weight, avoid eating more than half a day.

2. How do I know if my avocado is ripe?

Here’s a tip that has saved many an unripe-avocado-related breakdown in the IQS office. Lightly press (don’t squeeze!) the top of the avo. It should feel like the tip of your nose – firm but with a little give. We also buy them hard and have a production line of sorts with our ripening avocados.

If you get caught with an underripe avocado and you need it in an emergency, you can speed up the process by placing it in a brown paper bag with a banana. Bananas release ethylene gas, which hastens the ripening process.

If you’re really impatient, you can try a hack that went viral earlier this year by tightly wrapping your little green fruit in foil and baking it in a 93°C oven for 10 minutes.

3. How can I keep it fresh once cut?

Personally, we struggle to save that half an avocado for later. But here are a few tricks that (mostly) work to keep that avo fresh and green.

1. Leave the pit in the avo.
2. Keep it airtight (in cling wrap, tupperware containers or vacuum sealing if you’re keen).
3. Sprinkle with lemon juice… it works for guacamole!

(Any other tips? Share below!)

4. How can I use avocado?

Smashed avocado toast is basically Australia’s national dish (go away, lamingtons), but rest assured every country has its own special way of preparing avocado. Mexico gifted us with guacamole, the Japanese add avo to sushi and many southeast Asian countries are known to blend it into a creamy green drink.

5. How can I avoid an avocado injury? 

According to anecdotal evidence avocado-induced cuts are among the most common food-related injuries.

In fact, one doctor at a Sydney hospital jokingly referred to avocados as a health hazard, after treating several patients for wounds sustained when they plunged a sharp knife into their hand while trying to remove the pit from the avocado.

While the safest way to remove the pit from an avocado is with a spoon, even celebrities aren’t immune to an avo injury. Actress Meryl Streep revealed an avocado was responsible for the bandaged hand she was sporting at her movie premiere.

We originally published this article in February 2016. We updated it in June 2016.

Do you have any more questions about avocados? Write them (or simply sing the avocado’s praises) in the comments below.

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