How to choose the perfect avocado: Author shares little-known secret to picking a ripe fruit every time
- A cookbook author has shared how to choose a ripe avocado at the supermarket
- Kim McCosker said the key is to always check the stem of the fruit
- If the stem can be removed easily and you see green, the avocado is ripe
An Australian author has revealed how to pick the perfect avocado at the supermarket every time.
Kim McCosker, author of the cookbook series 4 Ingredients, said the checking the stem can help indicate how ripe the fruit is.
‘Avocados have stems and simply by peeling back the small stem can you can tell a lot about the fruit,’ she wrote on Instagram.
Kim McCosker, Australian author of the cookbook series 4 Ingredients, said the checking the stem can help indicate how ripe the fruit is. ‘If the stem comes off easily and you see green, it’s PERFECT, and ready to eat,’ she said (stock image)
‘If the stem comes off easily and you see green, it’s PERFECT and ready to eat,’ Kim said.
But if the stem is ‘fussy’ and difficult to remove, it’s most likely unripe.
‘If the stem removes easily and reveals a darker coloured flesh, it’s likely over-ripe will be stringy and inedible,’ she said.
Kim has learnt everything she knows about fruit and vegetables from her dad who’s a farmer.
‘As a farmer’s daughter, I pride myself in knowing ‘stuff’ about fruits and veggies,’ she wrote.
‘For example, apples are 25 per cent air, strawberries have on average 200 seeds and pumpkins are 90 per cent water…but I never knew this.’
The clever insight was quickly praised by others on social media who had ‘no idea’ about the avocado hack.
‘Wow. As a new avo eater thank you for all this info,’ one person wrote, another added: ”And I was today years old when I found this out! Thank you for sharing.’
How to tell if an avocado is ripe:
The stem of an avocado can indicate if the fruit is ripe or not:
If the stem comes off easily and you see green, it’s PERFECT, and ready to eat
If the stem is fussy and won’t remove easily, it’s likely unripe
If the stem removes easily and reveals a darker coloured flesh, it’s likely over-ripe will be stringy and inedible
Last year a dietitian revealed three additional ways to prevent avocados from turning brown.
Rebecca Gawthorne, from Sydney, Australia revealed you can use lemon, olive oil and even onion to stop the off-putting discolouration.
Sharing on her Nourish Naturally Instagram page the popular content maker told her fans to save the video for the next time they stock up on the fruit because the methods work so well.
‘The browning of an avocado is a natural chemical reaction called oxidisation that occurs when a cut avocado is exposed to oxygen in the air,’ she explained.
‘While it’s safe eat, brown avocados are not very aesthetically pleasing & can taste a bit bitter,’ she added.
Three ways to prevent cut avocados from turning brown:
– Squeeze lemon juice over avocado half
– Coat with olive oil
– Store avocado with red onion
Source: Nourish Naturally/Instagram
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