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Avocados spread onto toast is a great way to have a tasty and healthy breakfast, but waiting for them to ripen can be annoying. If you cannot cut through an avocado due to how tough it feels, it is still unripe, and it can take up to a week to become ripe enough to eat. However, no one likes having to wait that long , so Martie Duncan , a professional chef, has shared that a simple way to speed up the process of ripening avocados is to use a paper bag and some fruit .
Martie said: “Since avocados release a natural ethylene gas, storing them in a paper bag will promote the ripening process. “Adding whole apples or kiwi to the bag will actually speed up the process. The more apples or kiwi you add to the bag, the faster the avocado will ripen.
” Ethylene gas is a natural plant hormone released into the air by certain fruits to speed up the ripening process and make them more flavourful. If too much ethylene-producing fruit is stored together, it will ripen very quickly, so it is a natural way to make avocados soft and edible. All you need to do is store your avocados in a paper bag with an apple, a banana or kiwi fruit.
Seal the bag and then leave it in a cupboard or drawer in your kitchen, and the avocados should be completely ripe within 24 hours. Do not leave the bag near light or any hot appliances, as excess heat will disrupt the avocados' natural ripening process. If unripe avocados are exposed to heat, the outer layer of the fruit will soften and even begin to spoil while the inside remains hard.
This is why you should not put unripe avocados in the oven to ripen them. Despite this being a popular hack online, it will not work, as it will simply lead to rubbery fruit that tastes awful. It is also best to use a paper bag when ripening avocados.
This bag will trap the ethylene gas in the fruits but is still a breathable material with plenty of ventilation, so moisture will not be able to build up. A plastic bag does not allow airflow, and if too much moisture is stored inside, the fruit will become mouldy or rotten instead of ripening. You will know your avocado has ripened when the skin is a dark green colour that feels bumpy, while an unripe avocado will be smooth and bright green.
If you use the paper bag trick, then your avocado should be fresh and ready to eat in one day..