The Lemon Juice Method Well, this is a great hack for ripening an already cut avocado! Just coat both halves of your avocado with fresh lemon juice (lime will work too), then put back together and wrap tightly in cling film. Whack it in the fridge and check back the next day.
You know that thing about putting underripe fruit in a brown paper bag to make it ripen faster? Well, it actually works: Throw an unripe avocado into a paper bag with a ripe banana, fold down the opening, and leave it at room temperature on your countertop for a day or two to accelerate the avocado ripening process.
The best way to harness nature's methods of ripening is to put your avocado in a paper or cloth (not plastic) bag with a banana, which gives off high levels of ethylene, and leave for two to three days to ripen (really rock hard ones will take up to four or five days to ripen) – the bag will concentrate the gas.
Put an avocado in a paper bag with a banana, an apple or a kiwi and fold to seal. These fruits produce ethylene gas, a plant hormone that aids ripening. The closed brown paper bag traps the gas inside to speed up the ripening time.
If you do not have paper bags on hand, wrapping them in a newspaper will also do. This will accelerate the natural ripening process. For even quicker ripening, add an apple, banana, or a tomato to the bag. Ripe fruits contain a natural plant hormone called ethylene, which triggers ripening in mature fruit.
The darker the color, the riper the avocado.
Place your avocado in a brown paper bag, along with a banana. This trick may seem bananas, but it works! Ripe bananas contain a natural plant hormone called ethylene, which triggers ripening in mature fruit. The paper bag traps the ethylene gas that's produced by the fruit and speeds up the ripening process.
Do not microwave your avocados or put your avocados in the oven to try to ripen them faster. If you do, the microwave or oven may soften the flesh of the fruit a little which may make it 'seem' ripe, but it isn't. The avocado will taste unripe and won't have the creaminess or buttery, nutty flavor we all know and love.
Simply brush a little lemon or lime juice across the flesh of a sliced avocado, seal it in an airtight container, and it should delay the browning process for about a day.
The first tip is to squeeze lemon juice on the exposed surface of the avocado. Citric acid keeps fruit from browning because it is full of ascorbic acid. The oxygen reacts with the ascorbic acid before the avocado itself. Citrus juice is also a natural preservative!
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the top of the flesh or rub lightly with oil. Then cover with plastic wrap, pressing it along the top or exposed flesh, and store in an airtight container or freezer bag. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Countertop, Fridge or Freezer? Until they're fully ripe, avocados should be stored at room temperature. Placing an unripe avocado in the refrigerator will slow the ripening process, but the same concept applies to ripe avocados: put them in the refrigerator to keep them at their prime ripeness for longer.
Bright green: If your avocado has a bright green color, this means that it is still around four to seven days from being ripe. Avocados this color will typically be hard to the touch and will need to rest on the counter for a few days—maybe even a week—before you can eat them. Underripe avocados tend to lack flavor.
The paper bag traps the ethylene, holding it closer to the fruit and helping it ripen faster. Does it have to be a paper bag? Yes. Plastic bags trap moisture that will cause the fruit to rot before it properly ripens.
The sulfur compounds in the onion will oxidize on the green surface of the avocado and slow down the browning process for a few more days.
Hard, bright green avocados are 4-7 days away from being ripe. Bright green avocados that are very hard when palmed are still underripe and will have 4 days up to 1 week on the counter before they're ready to eat. Don't even try to eat them, as they will be hard and waxy and lack any flavor.
The secret is in the stem. If you flick the stem and it comes off without any resistance or falls off in your hand, chances are, that avocado is too ripe and will be a mushy, brown mess inside. But when you get the stem to pop off, check the color underneath.
The best way to ripen avocados quickly:
Add an avocado, along with an apple, a banana or a kiwi to a brown paper bag and fold to seal. These fruits release ethylene gas, a plant hormone that aids ripening. The closed paper bag traps the gas inside so the process can work faster.
Yes, a Cut Avocado Can Continue to Ripen
David Obebland, a plant physiologist with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service, avocados will ripen whether they are whole or cut.
For ripe avocados, place them in your refrigerator for 2-3 days to keep them fresh. If your avocado isn't quite ripe, leave it out on your countertop. Over the next 4-5 days, your avocado will ripen and be ready for you to enjoy.