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Go Ahead, Freeze the Avocados
By Rebecca | May 27, 2008
Below is the content from a message that was posted in an online Young Women’s group. I love avocados and, of course, any advice on storing food is always welcome. Hope you find these tips helpful for your avocados.
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Ever since my husband’s doctor suggested avocados to promote good health, we’ve been on an avocado kick. We live in California where avocados grow in abundance (95 percent of the world’s supply is grown here) so that makes it quite easy for us to comply with the doctor’s orders.
But here’s the problem: When avocados are ripe, they need to be consumed immediately. An overripe avocado is not a lovely thing. And since I am not one to visit the supermarket every day, this means we can have a bag of rock-hard avocados on Monday, the same on Tuesday and the entire lot ready to be eaten on Wednesday. I hate it when that happens!
I’ve picked up a lot of myths about avocados over the years—who knows where they came from. I had always thought you should never refrigerate avocados or try to freeze them. But recently I put those and other myths to rest with a little experimenting of my own, and I’m anxious to tell you what I’ve learned:
SEED. Start by cutting the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Then cup it between palms of your hands and gently twist the halves apart. Now whack the seed with the sharp edge of knife so it is slightly embedded in the seed. Turn gently and the seed will lift out easily.
PEEL. Avocados are easy to peel when ripe. Place one half of the avocado cut side down and remove the skin with a knife or your fingers (start at the small end). You can also simply scoop out the avocado meat with a spoon. Sprinkle lemon or lime juice over peeled avocados to prevent discoloring.
RIPEN. To ripen avocados slowly, put them in the fruit bin of your refrigerator (do not mix with apples). Avocados can be kept for up to two weeks this way. They will ripen very slowly, so when you take them out of the refrigerator they will be ready to eat in a couple of days. To ripen an avocado faster, place it in a brown paper bag and set in your oven with only the oven light on. Once avocados are at a desired stage of ripeness, they may be refrigerated for two to three days.
FREEZE. To freeze, mash the avocados with a fork. Add one teaspoon lime or lemon juice per avocado and mix well. The best way to freeze the prepared mashed avocados is to use a freezer-strength zip-type bag. Fill the bag with the mashed avocado. Remove the air from the bag, zip closed and freeze. To thaw, put in the refrigerator, or place the bag in a bowl of cool water to accelerate thawing.
DIETING. Contrary to popular belief, avocados can be a helpful part of a successful weight-management program. An avocado’s monounsaturated fat speeds up the basal metabolic rate, as compared with saturated fat. Its high fat content gives a quicker feeling of satiation (“fullness”), thus helping to reduce overeating. Its high fat content makes an overall sound diet more palatable, reducing the temptation to binge on foods high in sugars or saturated fats.
Topics: Advice, Budget, Cooking, Family, Food, Food Storage, How To, Knowledge, Life, Relief Society, Young Women |
June 25th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for the tips! I never knew I could FREEZE avacados!!! That is GREAT!!! I love them so much…but they are really expensive here in TN!!! So, when they are on sale, I will get some & mashthem & freeze them!!! I am so glad that I happened to come across your site!!!!!
P.s. Since you have so many avacados there where you live….you could Mail Some To Me