"fix" an unripe avocado?
so after falling in love with the avocado chicken salad recipe posted here last week, i was set on making it for my boyfriend this weekend, only to find no ripe avocados in any of our local stores. remembering that a not-quite ripe avocado still made an ok quacamole after being smushed in a food processor, i endeavored to try the salad with one as well. the salad was still good, but the chewy chunky avocado left a bit to be desired. :)
So i was thinking, is there a way to "fake" it being ripe if you don't have a couple days to mate it with a banana? can it be roasted or baked or...???
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19 Comments:
I've heard of microwaving it for a few seconds - or putting it in a paper bag for a few days.
pookywookyster at 12:24PM on 05/11/09
You can put it in a paper bag with a banana for a day or two.
emgroff at 12:37PM on 05/11/09
Oh, I'm sorry -- I didn't read to the end.
emgroff at 12:38PM on 05/11/09
I want this answer too! They're expensive...
hungrychristel at 12:50PM on 05/11/09
I've heard (not for dips):
-saute, salt & pepper, lemon juice
-tempura
-wrap prosciutto around thick slices and bake in a toaster oven
I'm pretty good at waiting, so I haven't actually tried any of the above...
hmw0029 at 2:02PM on 05/11/09
The paper bag with banana works, and in my experience takes overnight, not multiple days. So yeah, ripening them this way won't give you an instant result, but will definitely speed up the process, and will give you *good* results. If you're really in a pinch, yeah, you can nuke them, but in my experience this can result in an unevenly "ripe" avocado, and the flavor won't necessarily be all that it could be. Personally, I believe that unless you can wait the day or so it will take to truly ripen them (paper bag method or whatever), waiting is worth it.
annatr at 2:29PM on 05/11/09
I vote for the paper bag/banana combo. It's never failed me. Also works with tomatoes and persimmons.
therealchiffonade at 2:47PM on 05/11/09
I find that just avocados a paper bag will soften in several hours if they are not too underripe. The problem is finding paper bags these days so I have a stash of carefully saved ones squirreled away.
ocarol at 3:16PM on 05/11/09
Over night paper bag
bessfour at 4:31PM on 05/11/09
A banana in a bag ( plastic or paper) will ripen almost any fruit faster (any fruit that ripens after picking). The results are much more pronounced with avocados though.
Sweetie at 4:50PM on 05/11/09
Once I cut open an avocado I thought was ripe, but it was rather solid inside. I just put the two halves back together and used a tiny bit of masking tape to tape them together. Stuck that on top of my fruit bowl for the day, full of apples and a banana or two, and it ripened up with minimal grossness.
milkytea at 5:17PM on 05/11/09
Do not try grilling it. I speak from experience. Grilling an unripe avocado just made a grilled unripe avocado. I have also grated an unripe avocado on a microplane with hopes that it would be edible, but this didn't really work either. Sorry I can't give you any tips that actually work.
karen r at 5:35PM on 05/11/09
The thing is that if you RUSH to ripen an avocado it might get brown/dark spots... instead of ripening evenly. So the methods mentioned here are the most reliable and effective.
I just knew about putting he avocado in a paper bag, I did not know that adding a banana would help. I learned something new today...
If you get to cut into it and find it's not as ripe as you would like, place the wedge you cut into place again and leave it on top of the counter and by the next day the whole avocado will be riper than before...
MadelynRodriguez at 6:41PM on 05/11/09
good to hear that a cut avo will ripen up.... i've jumped the gun, i have to say, over zealous for avo's..... i'll try that trick of putting it back together....
love those little babies.
pooch at 7:19PM on 05/11/09
I can confirm that microwaving doesn't work. Tried that a few weeks ago, and it didn't work. Only solution is patience!
missjess at 12:32PM on 05/12/09
I concur - you have to be patient, at least for a day or so while the avocado is in a bag. Once you cut it up, you can add a dash of salt to bring out the flavor if it is still a little under ripe.
GraceF at 3:18PM on 05/12/09
The best thing you can do is put the bad avocado down and go to a Spanish Grocery.. They always have ones ready to go.
NYBITECLUB at 4:57PM on 05/12/09
if you place it in a bag with the indonisian pomma siate (poe-ma see-yat-ay) bud it will ripen within one hour...great if you just dont have the time to wait.
PAN SEARED at 9:20PM on 05/12/09
Wow! Thank you all...sadly - the best suggestion of patience is something i don't have! ;) And living in Midcoast Maine does not offer many Spanish Grocerys - sigh. But oh - sauteed avocado and avocado baked with prosciutto? oh my....yum.
I suppose I will just have to stock up and leave a few laying around on the counter! :)
kimberwolf at 10:16AM on 05/13/09