5 Tips for Guacamole-Ready Avocados  | undefined (2024)

FAQs

How do you know if an avocado is ripe enough for guacamole? ›

Look at the color: A ripe avocado is shiny and dark green, not black and matte or pale green. Avoid very dark and soft avocados. Give it the squeeze test: Hold the avocado in your hand and squeeze gently with your palm, not using your fingertips. If the avocado is ripe, it will give a little while remaining firm.

Pour a thin but visible layer of water or lemon/lime juice over the guacamole to form a barrier with the air. Cover the dish with plastic wrap, pushing the wrap, so it is flush with the guacamole to prevent air pockets, or put the guacamole in a sealed tub.

Guacamole must be made with perfectly ripe avocados, she insists. But if you find yourself with subpar avocados, add a teaspoon of olive oil into the mix. “The oil helps it be more lush and unctuous,” Cámara explains.

Fill a measuring cup with water that's cool or room temperature. Gently pour about a half inch of liquid over the top of the dip. Make sure water covers the surface completely—all the way to the container's edge. Editor's Tip: You may have heard a squirt of lemon or lime juice also keeps guacamole from browning.

You see, lime is a very strong acidic flavor and it can easily overpower the delicate flavor of the avocado. Instead, finely dice red onions and pickle them with lime juice for 15-30 minutes.

Make your guacamole, then place any uneaten dip in a resealable container. Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the dip, lightly pressing all over to make sure the plastic is directly in contact with the entire surface of the dip. Store the guacamole in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

By using this simple technique, you can keep the brown at bay for about two days (maybe longer if you're lucky). Once you're ready to store the guacamole, place it in an airtight storage container. You can also use a bowl and cover it tightly with plastic wrap.

Hold the avocado in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze it. Try not to press with your fingertips because this can cause bruising. If the avocado feels soft but not too squishy, it is ripe and ready to eat. If it feels hard it is not ripe and if it is too squishy is overly ripe.

Here's how to ripen avocados quickly

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.

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.

How do restaurants keep guacamole green? ›

Top with lime juice and plastic wrap

Avocados and most other fruits and veggies contain an enzyme (polyphenol oxidase) that reacts with the oxygen in the air and turns the flesh a dull shade of drab, known as oxidation. Limes are very acidic and contain loads of ascorbic acid, aka, vitamin C, which combats the enzyme.

The main goal is to prevent oxygen from touching the avocado's flesh. Plastic wrap is a practical, albeit not foolproof way to slow down the natural course of fruit aging. The trick is to make sure the plastic wrap is sealed flush with the flesh.

Olive Oil. Another option is to brush the avocado flesh with olive oil, says Weintraub. This creates "an oily barrier between the fruit and air, thus preventing browning," she explains.

The best way to ripen an avocado is good old-fashioned time and patience. Letting an avocado sit in a warm, room-temperature spot out of direct sunlight is the most natural way for it to ripen.

If it gives slightly, it's likely ripe and ready to eat. However, if squeezing leaves a small indentation, it may be too ripe for slicing and will work better mashed. The fruit is overripe and probably spoiled if pressing leaves a large dent and the fruit feels mushy.

An avocado generally takes four to seven days to ripen, and the best place to let it happen is just out on the counter at room temperature. All avocados start out bright green and feel heavy and hard in the palm of your hand. At this stage in the game, the hard fruit does not taste good.

If you're making guacamole the same day you're shopping, a dark green avocado is what you need. However if you're using the avocados days after you purchase them, it's best to buy them green so they can ripen perfectly at home and will be ready by the day you need them.