A YouTuber has provided a handy step-by-step guide on how to avoid picking unripe avocados at the supermarket. Avocados have enjoyed a surge in popularity in recent years as the fruit becomes a staple at the British breakfast table.
However, many people are left disappointed when they return home from the supermarket to find their product is not as fresh as they would have liked.
Like various other favourite fruit and veg, it is the outer layer that holds the key to whether the food is in peak condition and ready to eat.
In a recent video on her Natural Remedies channel, YouTube content creator Tracy shared the three checks you can do in the supermarket to make sure you are buying perfectly fresh avocados.
Sharing her first tip, she said: “Look at the skin colour and texture. As avocados ripen, their skin changes from bright green to a darker green or nearly black.”
While their outer colour can be a clear indicator of whether they are over or under ripe, she said the key is to make sure that they are the same colour all the way around the surface, as even some darker spots can be a sign of it starting to go brown and mushy on the inside.
Her next tip to selecting the perfect avocados came down to how they feel. Before going to the checkout, she urged shoppers to lightly feel the fruit to make sure they pass a “gentle squeeze test”.
Explaining what customers should do, Tracy said: “If it has a gentle give but doesn’t sink in, that’s the sweet spot – it’s perfectly ripe. But if it feels too soft, mushy, or collapses when you press, chances are the inside is already turning brown.”
The last suggestion to making sure we go home with the perfect avocados is by comparing the weight of the fruit. Claiming we should pick up two of the avocados of the same size, she said that we should then try and decipher which one is heavier and lighter.
Explaining what their weight difference can indicate, she said: “The heavier one is usually fresher and and has more moisture. If it feels too light, it may be drying out and won’t taste as good.”
While Tracy shared some of her top tips for making sure we leave the supermarket with the freshest avocados, Healthline have highlighted the fruit’s abundant health benefits: “Eating avocados regularly may benefit health in several ways, including protecting against heart disease, improving overall diet quality, improving satiety, and promoting gut health.”
Avocados are also packed with a significant amount of fiber, B6, vitamin C, potassium, vitamin E, folate, and copper.
