Avacado help

[Baclava]

What the hell do you look for when shopping for avacadoes?

Seems like the ones I pick out are rotten inside. I was told to pick the semi-soft ones and let them ripen a couple of days, but when you open it up it looks like a fingerpainting experiment gone horribly wrong.

[Shoeempress]

1. Mostly firm but a little tiny bit soft. If they are squishy, put it back

[Thtwudbeme]

2. Buy extremely firm, bright dark green ones

and put them on your kitchen counter...in a couple of days you will feel them soften up a little bit....that's when you slice 'em and pig out!

[Trillo]

3. If you need them right away, the only choice is to find one

that is darkening in skin color and is beginning to soften.

Green, hard ones are great if you don't need them today. They'll ripen in a bowl on the table.

[SoCalDem]

4. Haas are the best.. sorta greenish bumpy..turns black as they ripen

(the skin..not the avocado)..The long gourd-like green ones (Calavo) ones tend to be less tasty and often have stringy flesh..

click the pic below for all you need to know about avocados

[eek]

5. to soften faster, put in brown paper bag.

a small bag , then close it up.

that photo in SCD's post is just lovely: avocadic perfection.
I'm with ya on those calvado ones. nasty and watery.

[Baclava]

7. Thanks - I've used that with banannas...

By putting a ripe banana/peel in the bag, the gases that it releases speed the ripening process.

[Trillo]

6. I'm going to have to disagree with you there, SoCalDem.

It's a matter of taste, which is so personal. Haas are the most common, and one of the most durable with their thick skin and all.

Personally, I like the Reed Avocado the best. Hard to find, but I think they make the best guacamole because their flavor is more subtle. Lots of people love the Fuerte, but it's been so many years since I've eaten one of those, I really don't remember what they taste like. Many of the Fuerte groves have been replaced with Haas.

[SoCalDem]

9. I was raised on "free" ones..(we had 3 trees in our yard)

and when Haas are not in season, any avocado is better than none:)

[wishlist]

8. If you get a firm one and cut it too soon, let it sit and it will ripen

I like to buy firm ones that are bright and green without soft spots or discoloration and wait a day or two until they feel softer, but not too long because even if we misjudge and cut into it too soon before it is ripe enough, it can be placed in a plastic bag and left out for several more hours or a day and it will continue ripening. Better than getting one that is overripe with all that discoloration.