How Do You Choose a Good Avocado Without Bruises?
Sneak Preview: Do you know how to select a good avocado without bruises, especially from a discount grocery store? Keep reading for secrets that I hope you find helpful.
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Sometimes, buying an avocado seems like buying a box of chocolates. You never know what you’ll get.
I used to struggle with bringing home avocados without dark spots and bruises under their leathery skin. This can be frustrating, especially when I need perfect avocados to serve alongside Green Chili Enchiladas, Texas Tamale Pie, or these Leftover Beef Brisket Quesadillas.
Disclaimer: My avocado-picking tip may not work in all situations. If you need ripe avocados for guacamole to go with flautas tonight, visit a pricier store with less traffic. Smaller shops are ideal, as their avocados are less likely to have been handled and bruised by others.
There’s also no telling how often those tough-looking avocados have rolled out of the bin onto the hard cement or tiled floor and taken a few good bounces.
If you like to keep avocados on hand, try my secret and buy them regularly. You’ll always have perfectly ripe, bruise-less, and ready-to-eat avocados in your fridge.
How To Choose an Avocado Without Bruises
- When I want avocados for my San Antonio Bean Burger or avocado toast with my sourdough bread, I buy them at least 3-5 days before using them to give them time to ripen.
- Choose hard avocados, especially from discount stores like Aldi, Winco, or Walmart. If only soft ones are available, I skip them. Hard avocados are less likely to be damaged by rough handling, whether from shoppers squeezing them or store clerks consolidating containers.
- Look for avocados with green skin. Generally, the skin turns black as it ripens.
- Store them in plain view on your kitchen counter in a bowl so you won’t forget about them. Then, apply slight pressure with your fingertips near the stem every day to evaluate the stage of ripeness. Compare the firmness of the avocado to applying pressure with your thumb to the palm of your hand.
- Check ripeness by gently pressing near the stem; move them to the fridge when they give slightly. They will stop ripening when chilled.
- Refrigerated avocados usually stay fresh for a week without bruising or bad spots.
How To Choose an Avocado with the Most Flesh
Avoid round avocadoes. The seeds tend to be huge with less flesh than the pear-shaped avocados. (Thank you to one of my readers who shared this secret that he learned from a Hispanic lady searching for avocados next to him in the store.)
How To Store a Cut Avocado
- Store half of an avocado with the seed in a jar filled with water, ensuring it’s fully submerged. Keep it in the fridge and use within 1-2 days. The top layer may appear waterlogged, but it’s barely noticeable when mashing for avocado toast.
- Place a cut avocado in an empty pint or quart canning jar. Cover the jar with the flat lid part of the two-part canning lid. Seal with a portable vacuum sealer(paid link). This will give you at least one extra day and maybe, two. See the pictures below.
Happy Cooks Speak Up
“I’ve used mine almost every day sealing an avocado in a jar. Thank you so much for introducing me to this sealer. It is so very easy to use and I can’t be happier! And the coupon was awesome! “–DONNA
If a portable vacuum-sealer seems unnecessary for such a small job, I assure you it is well worth the price considering all the things you can do with it.
Ripening Issues
- Speed up the ripening process by placing the avocado with an apple or banana in a brown paper bag. The ethylene gas released by those fruits will encourage the avocados to ripen faster. Occasionally, I come across an avocado that won’t seem to ripen. I’m told such avocados were picked from the trees too soon.
- It’s generally safe to eat avocados with a black spot near the surface. According to Healthline, an isolated black spot is usually caused by a bruise. Black spots throughout the avocado mean it has passed its prime. If the spots are small, I cut them out. If there are too many, I pass.
Since I shop about once a week, I pick up several hard avocados every time I go to keep good avocados on hand.
Happy avocado-eating!
If you have questions or suggestions, email me privately for a quick answer: Paula at saladinajar.com. Hope to see you again soon!
Paula Rhodes, owner
As a retired home economist, I created Saladinajar.com to share my belief that you don’t have to be a chef to find joy in creating homemade food worth sharing. Bread machines (used in an unconventional way), homemade yogurt, and quick microwave recipes are my specialty.