How to choose, store & serve an avocado?!
How to choose, store & serve an avocado?
Answers:
Choosing-
At the top and or bottom is that little nub thing, pick it off, if its green get it, if not ditch it.
Storing-
Brown paper bags on your kitchen counter, away from heat.
Serve-
Guacomole*, cookies, cakes, etc.
Source(s):
Good Eats - Alton Brown.
www.foodnetwork.com
soft
fridge
cut up
How you choose an avocado depends on when you want it. If you want to use it straight away then go for a brown skin (but not too dark because they are REALLY soft). If you squeeze it it should feel firm but not hard. If you don't want to use it yet gop for a green skin.
Store in the fridge unless you have a green skin / hard avocado.
Serve sliced or unless you're like me, chop in half, spoon out and eat!!
Choose an avocado that is dark green and firm. If it is not yet ripe (you can tell this by how firm it is - if it feels like an apple, it is not yet ripe; if it feels like a grape, throw it out) let it sit out of refridgeration for a day or so - this will spead along the process. Otherwise, keep in your fridge and remove only before you plan to use/serve it. I am a sous chef, and for my menus I traditionally use avocados for salads (they go great with crab meat, parmesan cheese, and a citrus vinnaigrette) or for gaucamole. I generally don't serve them as a vegetable side dish by themselves, stick to other veggies for that. Enter avocado food recipes at yahoo search engine and you'll have more recipes than you could ever use!
an avocado should have black skin, give a little like if you pressed on a pare. Store it in a brown paper bag on the counter with an apple if it is hard and you want it to ripen, if it is ripe store it in the fridge. Keep it in mind that a ripe avocado can only stay in the fridge for a couple of days before it goes bad. To serve cut it half and turn like you would a peach or nectarine. Pop out the stone by hitting it lightly and carefully with a knife and turning the knife and pulling the stone out. The stone should easily remove, if not then that is a sign the avocado is not yet ripe. If the stone comes out then follow the skin of the avocado with a spoon and scoop out the "meat". Now you can chop it mash it, whatever you would like to do. Serve it in a dish or back in in the skin it came in(which will help it from going brown)
Avocado is so good by itself for an interesting snack. When it's soft enough, cut with a knife around it and then twist it open. Take a knife and wack it into the stone in the middle, and twist it out. Then take some lemon juice and salt and sprinkle it all over and eat it with a spoon!
In the Philippines they eat it with cream and sugar like a dessert.
Avocado milk shake is yummilicious
Choose one with brown peel (ripe one) the more softer the better
Peel, chop, add milk, sugar, vanilla essence, ice cubes and two drops of green colour blend till smooth and serve
Choose firm. An avocado is ripe when it yields slightly when pressed with your thumb. If it yields more than that, don't buy it unless you are making guacamole that day. Don't buy it if it's mushy when pressed, it will be black inside. Store on the countertop until ripe. Store unused cut avocado wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge, but use within a day or two. I use avocado sliced on sandwiches, cubed on salad and in guacamole. Avocado should not be cooked. You cut it around the pit and twist it open. From there you can scoop it out of the skin with a big spoon and get it all out in one chunk for slicing or whatever.
Others have given good tips on finding a ripe one. Also, feel the WHOLE avocado, because just like any fruit/veg, it can have bad spots. It might all feel great, but then have a big mushy spot. I usually buy mine pretty firm because it takes me awhile to use them. I'll buy one that's ready, a couple that are almost ready, and one that's unripe... then I know I'll have usable avocados for a good week or two.
I keep mine in the fridge. If you want it to ripen faster, put it in a brown paper bag on the counter.
I usually make guacamole out of them (I just mush it up, then put a spoon or so of mayo in it... totally simple but it gets rave reviews!). But they're also great on sandwiches, on veggie burgers, on portabello "burgers", in salads & my FAVORITE... on a veggie kabob, grilled on the barbecue. YUM! I also toss 'em in a breakfast scramble occasionally. Unlike what someone said... you CAN cook them... you just have to be careful to add them at the end so they don't disappear into mush. Kabobs are definitely my favorite way to cook them though! YUM!