Avocado season is officially here. As we head into the summer, it's important to know how to buy the perfect avocados at the supermarket. Luckily, Australian cookbook author Kim McCosker was kind enough to share some foolproof tips she's learned over the years.
You know you're getting good advice about your fruits and vegetables when it's coming from the daughter of a farmer. "As a farmer's daughter, I pride myself in knowing 'stuff' about fruits and veggies," she noted. According to McCosker, who wrote the cookbook series 4 Ingredients, the right way to check for ripe avocados is to look at the stem. "Avocados have stems, and simply by peeling back the small stem, can you can tell a lot about the fruit," she told her Instagram followers. "If the stem comes off easily and you see green, it's PERFECT and ready to eat." McCosker also revealed what the avocado would look like if it wasn't ready to be eaten. An unripe avocado would normally have a "fussy" stem that was difficult to remove. On the other hand, she said, "If the stem removes easily and reveals a darker colored flesh, it's likely over-ripe will be stringy and inedible."
Many social media users commented on her post, praising her for sharing her insights and saying they had "no idea" about the avocado hack. "Wow. As a new avo eater, thank you for all this info," one user commented, while another wrote, ''I was today years old when I found this out! Thank you for sharing." As avocado lovers, we're forever grateful.
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Another expert who shared her avocado hacks on Instagram last year was Australian dietician Rebecca Gawthorne. Her official page on the social media platform, called Nourish Naturally, offers tips and advice on how to pack delicious foods with more nutrients. When it comes to avocados, she said, there are ways to prevent them from turning brown. "While it's safe to eat, brown avocados are not very aesthetically pleasing & can taste a bit bitter," she explained. According to Gawthorne, lemon, olive oil, or even onions could do the trick when it comes to preventing the discoloration of avocados. Thanks to our online avo experts, we're already looking forward to adding the green fruit (yes, it's a fruit) to our dips and salads this summer...
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