I tried a popular TikTok hack for storing avocados, and I'll never go back to wrapping the fruit in plastic or aluminum foil (2024)

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There's nothing quite as satisfying as a perfectly ripe avocado.

Millennials may get a bad rep for being obsessed with avocados, but I must say, there's a reason why people can't get enough of avos: the green fruits add a delectable flavor to just about any breakfast, lunch, or dinner meal.

Plus, the fruits are packed with health benefits, from being a source of healthy fat to potentiallyhelping decrease levels of bad cholesterol.

The fruits can be temperamental when it comes to their ripeness, though. That's why when I manage to cut an avocado in half at the perfect time, revealing a yellow-green color and soft (but not too soft) consistency, it's a cause for celebration.

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Storing the tasty fruit without it instantly turning brown, however, can be a less magical experience.

Since I'm typically cooking for one, it's rare that I finish an entire avocado in one sitting.

Thus, the leftover part of the avocado is reserved for day two, which means it spends the night in the refrigerator while cradled in plastic wrap or aluminum foil — or sometimes a sandwich bag, which I realize probably makes the avocado connoisseurs of the world cringe.

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In the name of avocado storage perfection, I tested a hack that involves an unused half of the fruit, a container, and water.

One avocado storage method in particular has garnered TikTok fame. Originally demonstrated by @KMag1 earlier in July, the trick involves three simple steps.

1. Start with an avocado that's been cut in half.

2. Instead of covering the halved avocado in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, place it pit-side down in a clean container filled with water.

3. Let the avocado sit in the container as long as necessary for up to 24 hours.

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The avocado made the water look murky, but I trusted the process.

I used the first half of the fruit for my lunch, then stored the other half in the water-filled container and left it sitting overnight on my kitchen counter, following the original TikTok creator's instructions.

The next morning, I initially was taken aback by the container's tinted water.

Lifting the container to peek at the color of the avocado, though, I could see that it was a vibrant green color, which gave me hope that the trick really worked.

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When lunchtime rolled around the next day, I was impressed with how green the fruit had stayed.

One thing I didn't love about this storage tactic was that the surface of the avocado was soaking wet.

However, this was fixable with a simple trick from a follow-up TikTok, which involved gently patting the fruit with a paper towel to sop up the excess liquid.

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The hack works great for preserving the fruit's ripeness — as long as you don't mind digging into a mushier avocado.

The biggest difference I noticed from the "before" and "after" stages of my avocado was that the fruit's texture felt softer and borderline mushy after I patted it with a paper towel to soak up the remaining water.

However, the fruit's bright-green hue — which stayed the same after nearly 24 hours had passed — was enough to convince me that I should be storing it in water all the time.

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The storage method might look odd, but it helped prolong the lifespan of my leftover avocado.

At first, I wondered if the water would impact the taste of the fruit, but I didn't notice any negative change.

If anything, the storage hack made for a better-tasting version of the green fruit — and most of all, it allowed me to enjoy my avocado to its fullest potential.

• Read more:
• 13 of the best simple cooking and kitchen hacks on TikTok, from baking to food storage
• I tried TikTok's hack to make grapes taste like Sour Patch Kids and it's my new favorite snack
• I write about food for a living. Here are 8 items I always keep in my freezer.
• This graphic shows how tweaking the same brownie recipe can result in 9 different batches

This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).