Avocados are creamy and delicious, but improper storage may turn them dark and mushy in seconds. Enzymes react with oxygen, causing premature spoilage.
Taesha Butler, expert cook and founder of The Natural Nurturer, has revealed how to extend avocado shelf life. She suggests: "Apply avocado or olive oil on exposed skin. The flesh will be sealed from air, slowing browning. Pastry brushes work well."
People think storing avocado slices in water will keep them fresh, but it doesn't. Instead, it produces dangerous bacteria that render fruit unfit to eat. Plus, it changes the fruit's texture, leaving slimy avocado slices in your fridge.
Five-minute avocado storage. When you have a whole avocado in your kitchen, store it at room temperature until it is fully ripe before refrigerating.
Ethylene gas helps avocados ripen and taste better, but chilly temperatures stop it, making them taste bad.
The stem of a ripe avocado should be soft and easily removed. If the stem feels solid, your avocado is unripe and should stay on the counter.
"Store whole, ripe avocados in the fridge," says Taesha. This prolongs their lives and keeps them ripe in the fridge for three days."
Put an avocado in a paper bag with a banana to avoid ripening. This traps more ethylene gas and accelerates ripening.
Brush it with oil, wrap it in clingfilm, and place it flesh-side down in a closed container. The pro tip: "Turning the avocado flesh side down instantly limits how much air can get to it."
Taking five minutes to correctly store avocados prevents air from entering the fruit, keeping it fresh for longer.