How To Use Unripe Avocados (2024)

FAQs

What can you do with unripe avocados? ›

You know that thing about putting underripe fruit in a brown paper bag to make it ripen faster? Well, it actually works: Throw an unripe avocado into a paper bag with a ripe banana, fold down the opening, and leave it at room temperature on your countertop for a day or two to accelerate the avocado ripening process.

If you're unable to tell from its bright, green look and firm skin that an avocado is unripe, the bitter or bland taste will certainly be an indication. Despite its underwhelming flavor and flesh that's as hard as the outer skin, unripe avocados aren't dangerous, so you can still go ahead and eat them.

Do not microwave your avocados or put your avocados in the oven to try to ripen them faster. If you do, the microwave or oven may soften the flesh of the fruit a little which may make it 'seem' ripe, but it isn't. The avocado will taste unripe and won't have the creaminess or buttery, nutty flavor we all know and love.

Put an avocado in a paper bag with a banana, an apple or a kiwi and fold to seal. These fruits produce ethylene gas, a plant hormone that aids ripening. The closed brown paper bag traps the gas inside to speed up the ripening time.

Hard avocados aren't ready for eating yet, and those that feel mushy when you squeeze them are overripe. If you can't find any ripe avocados, you'll need to plan ahead and bring some hard ones home to ripen on your counter for a few days before making your authentic guacamole.

Place your avocado in a bowl of raw rice and submerge it completely so it's covered on all sides. Uncooked rice does an excellent job of trapping the ethylene gas produced by the avocado. Typically, this method will take a few days to reach ripeness perfection — be sure to check it daily.

After speaking with avocado experts and running some in-house tests, we learned that avocados can continue to ripen after they've been cut. In fact, as long as you store the cut fruit properly and give it a few extra days, it will be just as creamy and rich as if you had opened it at peak ripeness.

Countertop, Fridge or Freezer? Until they're fully ripe, avocados should be stored at room temperature. Placing an unripe avocado in the refrigerator will slow the ripening process, but the same concept applies to ripe avocados: put them in the refrigerator to keep them at their prime ripeness for longer.

Do unripe avocados taste bad? ›

They have a buttery, creamy texture that makes them easy to incorporate into a wide range of dishes and even beverages. Another factor that affects avocado taste is ripeness. Unripe avocados either taste bitter or have no flavor at all. They have a tough texture and deliver a starchy, chalky mouthfeel.

To get your avocado fix early and with maximum flavor, simply place them next to a window in the heat of the sun to help them ripen faster. This allows the fruit to ripen naturally, resulting in the soft, buttery flesh and delicious, nutty flavor we all love.

How to "ripen" an avocado in the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Wrap an avocado in foil and bake, checking every 10 minutes, until the avocado is soft enough to use.

The bottom line: If you need your avocados to ripen sooner rather than later, keep them on the counter. Otherwise, for better quality, you're better off putting them in the fridge and allowing them to ripen slowly. In either case, store the ripened fruit in the fridge to extend shelf life.

Depending on its firmness and color, a fresh avocado can take one to seven days to ripen naturally. Avocados that are hard and green take five to seven days to ripen, while hard, dark-green options can take anywhere from one to three days.