Ripen your avocados, today!

For me, food is fun. Avocados, a new favorite of mine have also become subject to my food experimentation’s. I use them in smoothies (right? Forget the Kale—an avocado still makes your smoothie green, and it tastes a lot better. Don’t get me wrong—Kale absolutely has its place in my cookbook.) baked goods, puddings, soups, salads, sauces, ice cream— it’s safe to say they’re perfect on their own; too.

There are few things better than a ripe avocado; but there’s nothing worse than needing your green goddess to ripen in the next day when it’s as hard as a rock. This of course, usually happens when I have the spare 10 minutes to scramble the ingredients before I jolt out the door.

If you find yourself in this dilemma where you need to speed up the ripening process (via Vivian Tran’s article in XYZ magazine):

1)      If you have 24 hours: Place avocados in a brown paper bag with a banana, then leave the bag on a sunny windowsill for 18-24 hours. Together the banana and avocados release a large amount of ethylene gas which can quicken ripening.

2)      If you have less than 24 hours: Place two peeled pitted avocados in a blender with 1 cup of peas (fresh, frozen, or thawed) and pulse until smooth. The peas will help soften the consistency of the unripe avocados but won’t affect the flavor.

Now, it’s your turn to become a ripening wizard with these simple tricks. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: BringJoy.com, Start Baby On Solids.com