Avocado is one of the most popular vegan foods. Many people seem to associate veganism with copious avocado consumption!
I certainly love avocado, and I try to incorporate it into different dishes. It’s also delicious on its own.
But if you’ve never had one before, you might be wondering what it tastes like. Avocados have a slightly nutty or buttery taste depending on ripeness and the variety. Their overall flavor is muted and not overwhelming. Some say that avocados have an earthy or grassy taste as well.
They overall have a smooth, creamy texture that makes them blend well into many dishes. The fruit is naturally fatty and nutty, and the flesh is easy to spread and smear. It’s also an excellent base for dips and is a delicious addition to just about any salad.
Avocado Varieties, Tastes, and Textures
In the USA, there are two main types of avocado: Hass avocados and Florida avocados. Hass avocados are sometimes called California avocados, too. Florida avocados have relatively light, green skin.
Hass avocados are much darker, and their skin looks almost like tree bark. They also have more fat than Florida avocados, which makes them a better choice if you want to use your avocado as a spread or for a type of butter substitute.
The taste of avocado is relatively difficult to describe. Most people would say that avocados are buttery and nutty, and I also think that the flavor is somewhat reminiscent of grass, but in a good way.
It’s definitely an earthy flavor, and ripe avocados often taste quite rich, too. A ripe avocado is soft, oily, and buttery. The texture is sort of close to banana, but with a tiny bit more bite, and it’s oily instead of powdery.
There are other types of avocados, too, but they are much rarer and difficult to find. In Mexico, you can find smaller avocado varieties, which taste quite different from their larger cousins.
I haven’t tried those personally, so I’m going to focus on Hass and Florida avocados.
How Should I Choose an Avocado?
The most common way to gauge whether or not your avocado is ripe is by pressing the skin. An avocado that is ripe and ready to eat should have some give, and it should feel a bit soft when you press the skin down.
If the avocado is hard or has no yield, then it probably isn’t ripe, and you shouldn’t buy it if you want to eat it straight away. An avocado that feels really soft is probably overripe or bruised and would be best left alone.
How To Ripen A Hard Avocado
If your avocado isn’t ripe yet, you can ripen them fairly easily at home. All you need is a brown paper bag and an apple or a banana.
Store your avocado in a brown paper bag with a banana or apple, and it should be ripe enough to eat within a few days. When you do this, it’s important that you store the bag at room temperature.
If the avocado was on the verge of being ripe, then doing this could ripen it in 24 hours if not overnight.
How Can I Store my Avocados?
There are different ways to store an avocado, depending on how ripe it is. You should always be able to make your avocado last at least a few days before it goes bad, though.
An unripe avocado can be left in the fridge for a few weeks. The avocado can still ripen slowly in the refrigerator, provided that you haven’t cut it yet.
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Please make sure you check on your avocado every now and then while it’s in the fridge, in case you’ve misjudged how ripe it was when you put it in the refrigerator initially.
You can keep a ripe avocado in the fridge for around a week before it goes bad. Again, this applies to uncut avocados.
If the avocado feels very soft, then it isn’t going to last very long in the fridge, probably only a day or two. Instead, you should consider using it immediately or trying to freeze it to use later for smoothies.
If you like using avocados in your smoothies, freezing them is a good option. This is a great way to make your avocado last longer, as well as giving your smoothie some extra body and thickness.
To freeze your avocado, you should peel it first, and freeze them on a tray in a single layer before storing it in a freezer bag. Once your avocado is frozen, it’s pretty difficult to separate the skin from the flesh which is why it’s best done as the first step.
How To Open An Avocado Easily
The easiest way to prepare an avocado is by cutting it in half and removing the pit. To cut the avocado, you can make an incision across the body.
Once you’ve done that, you can remove the pit by tapping it with your knife so that the blade sinks in. Then, you can pull the pit straight out.
If you’re worried about safety, you can also use a spoon to get under the pit and work it until it’s loosened enough to come out. You need to be careful not to bruise the flesh when doing this.
Your avocado is now ready to eat, or you can remove the flesh from the skin if you want to use it for cooking. The easiest way to remove the skin once you’ve cut the avocado in half is with a spoon.
Take a spoon and gently dig at the margin between the skin and the flesh. The flesh should easily come away from the skin, and once you’ve worked your way around the whole half, the skin should come off.
You can then use the avocado for cooking!
If you’re planning on mashing up your avocado, you can also spoon the flesh straight out of the skin. Again, you need to be careful to make sure that you don’t damage or bruise the flesh when you do this.
How Can I Cook With Avocado?
Avocado is a truly versatile ingredient, which you can use both as a base or a main ingredient in its own right. One of the most popular avocado recipes is guacamole- avocado dip.
Guacamole is a simple and delicious recipe, which is the perfect accompaniment for chips or tacos. Simply cut up an onion, garlic, tomato, cilantro, and mix this with lime juice and mashed avocado.
You can also spread an avocado straight onto toast or crackers. Smashed avocado is great paired with scrambled tofu for a really hearty breakfast.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try using your avocado to thicken up desserts. I’ve made chocolate pudding with avocado and was really impressed! The flavor is subtle enough that it doesn’t taste overwhelming or weird, and the texture is soft and luxurious.
Final Thoughts
To someone unfamiliar, the muted nutty creamy taste of an avocado may not seem like much. But once you pair it with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice, herbs, and other seasonings, the flavor really explodes.
Avocados are a healthy vegan fat that is versatile. (Yes, avocados are vegan even though some people try to claim they aren’t.)While not everyone will love avocados, I recommend that you try them at least once before giving up on them.
What was your thought the first time you tasted an avocado? Do you have a favorite recipe to use them in?
