Express reporter tests out Tesco’s new avocado ripeness scanners
Tesco has started trialling a new avocado scanner that promises to tell shoppers exactly how ripe their fruit is, and whether it’s better suited for slicing or smashing on toast. It’s being tested at just five stores across the country, including one near me in Colchester. So I had to try it out for myself.
The scanner, called the OneThird Avocado Scanner, uses infrared tech to look inside the fruit and tell you if it’s ready. No squeezing, no guesswork, and no bruised avocados left on the shelf. It sounded like a game-changer for any millennial with a sourdough habit, but I wanted to see if it really worked. More importantly, I wanted to see if it could outsmart my wife.
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It was the ultimate battle between my wife and Tesco’s new scanner. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
While my wife was choosing her avocados in the background, I got familiar with the scanner. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
If you’ve ever been avocado shopping with someone who knows what they’re doing, you’ll know it can be a serious operation.
My wife has a sixth sense for telling which one is perfectly ripe, which one’s a day off, and which one is basically a rock. So the real test wasn’t just if the scanner worked, it was if it could beat her.
First challenge? Finding the scanner. You’d expect it to be next to the avocados, right? Wrong. At my local Tesco in Colchester Hythe, it was hiding next to the onions, which feels like a bizarre place to stick a hi-tech fruit gadget.
I walked right past it at least twice before spotting the small sign.
The scanners are very easy to use: you just have to place the avocado in the circle. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
To our surprise, the results for each avocado were the same. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
Eventually I found it, looking a bit like a checkout scanner with a small screen. The instructions were simple: hold up an avocado, wait a few seconds, and it’ll tell you if it’s “ready to smash” or “good to slice”. So far, so easy.
My wife went ahead and picked out three avocados using the tried and tested methods, giving them a gentle squeeze, checking the skin, and even popping off the little stem on top to check the colour underneath.
She handed me three: one that was “definitely too mushy”, one that was “definitely too hard”, and one that was “just right”.
Meanwhile, I picked one completely at random and scanned it. The verdict? “Ripe & Ready To Eat. Ideal for slicing into your salad or for sandwiches”. Excellent. Then we scanned my wife’s three.
The scanner was conveniently located next to the onions. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
With the scanner saying the same thing for all the avocados, the debate had to be settled at home. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
All of them, even the one she swore was a brick, came back with the same result: “Ripe & Ready To Eat”.
So we had to settle this the old-fashioned way. Back home, we labelled each avocado so we knew which was which. Then we cut into them, one by one.
First up: the one my wife said was too mushy. The scanner said it was ripe and perfect to eat, but as soon as I opened it, green mush oozed out. I had it all over my hands before I could even blink. 1-0 to my wife.
Next: the hard one. Again, the scanner said it was ripe. But when I tried slicing it, the knife bounced off. It made an actual thud when I accidentally dropped it on the table. 2-0 to my wife.
We labelled each avocado and cut into it to see the actual results and if the scanner was correct (Image: Kris Boratyn)
The avocado my wife chose using traditional methods was perfect. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
Then the one both my wife and the scanner agreed was ripe. And fair enough, it was perfect. Soft, green, no brown patches. But since they both got it right and the scanner seems to be saying the same thing about all the avocados, I’m giving this one to my wife too. 3-0.
Finally, the one I chose without her input, just me and the scanner. This one was spot on. Creamy, ripe, and ready for toast. I’ll take that as a point for the scanner. Final score: 3-1.
In fairness to the scanner, it did get one right. But when it came to the tough calls, too hard or too soft, it wasn’t much better than guesswork.
That said, it’s a nice idea. It’s fun to use, and if you’re in a hurry or don’t know what you’re looking for, it could save you from picking a dud.
The rock hard avocado that the scanner said was ripe was very, very hard indeed. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
The mushy avocado that the scanner said was perfectly ripe. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
The scanner got one avocado right, but then again it was saying the same thing for all of them. (Image: Kris Boratyn)
It also means fewer people squeezing every avocado on the shelf, which might help cut down on bruised or wasted fruit.
Tesco said the scanner could help customers pick the right fruit for their needs, whether that’s slicing into a salad or smashing on toast, and help reduce waste by stopping people from buying the wrong ripeness.
Lisa Lawrence, Tesco’s avocado buyer, said it “helps protect avocados on shelf from damage, reducing waste, and keeping produce fresher in store”.
The supermarket is also working with supplier Westfalia Fruit to make avocados more sustainable, including removing plastic labels and switching to paper packaging.
But based on my completely unscientific test, the real expert in avocado ripeness… is still my wife.