Can You Eat An Avocado When It’s Brown?

Can you eat an avocado when it’s brown?

In this brief guide, we will answer the question: “Can you eat an avocado when it’s brown?” We will also discuss why avocados become brown and darker, the different types of avocados, the benefits or harm caused by the ingestion of that kind of food and how you can tell the difference between brown and rotten avocados.

Can you eat an avocado when it’s brown?

Yes, you can eat an avocado when it’s brown. Avocado is a mexican native fruit that was firstly found in andean regions. Today, it’s a part of the culture from different countries and has a large distribution all over the world. It’s available in different types and can give you a lot of health benefits if you include it in your diet.

How and why do avocados become brown?

Avocados become darker and, eventually, brown, because of enzymes present in the flesh of the fruit. When the avocado has contact with oxygen, these enzymes make a reaction that produces melanin and give the avocados the brown color.

The time is also a parameter that influences the structure and color of avocados.

A totally green and hard avocado is considered an unripe fruit. A green but soft avocado is considered a ripe fruit. Brown avocados are also ripe fruits, it just suffers with the action of enzymes and time. The longer the avocado was taken from the tree, the higher the chances it becomes brown and with a mushy structure.

What are the different types of avocado?

The different avocado (Persea americana) types are three: Mexican (drymifolia variety), Guatemalan (guatemalensis variety) and West Indian (americana variety). The Mexican one is the most common.

The fruits grow in cold temperatures and have a high quality and characteristic flavor. It can become brown faster than the other varieties.

The Guatemalan avocado tree gives a bit bigger fruits, with an average size of 240 – 1000 grams. It has a different ripening season than the other varieties, but doesn’t support low temperatures, as it grows better and faster in warm climate countries. It is also very common.

The West Indian race is the rarest of all varieties, being found only in the United States, more specifically in the state of Florida. It doesn’t grow well in cold temperatures and it needs a little more humidity than the other varieties to ripening. It has a soft flesh, so you better avoid letting it become brown, because it can lose its structure really fast.

What are the health benefits of eating brown avocados?

The health benefits of eating brown avocados are actually the same as eating a ripe avocado, since there is no other difference than the presence of melanin in one of them. Brown avocados are perfect for your diet, since it is a great source of different vitamins (vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K) and metals (magnesium, copper and potassium).

Brown avocados also are a high fiber fruit, having approximately 14 grams of fibers per fruit. Ingesting fibers is a great way of maintaining your intestine functioning well and, in that way, avoid gut issues such as diarrhea, constipation and abdominal discomfort.

If you are afraid to have a heart condition, you will be pleased to know that brown avocados can reduce the risk of heart diseases, since it has a highly diverse nutrient profile.

By consuming avocados, you increase your HDL, the protective cholesterol, and decrease the oxygened LDL, the cholesterol type that increases the chance of a heart attack.

Brown avocados have a high antioxidant content because it has substances called phenolic compounds and carotenoids. These molecules are shown to be neuroprotective, anti-stress and give protection to oxidative damage that eventually can cause skin wrinkles, inflammation and even cancer.

How to tell the difference between a brown and a rotten avocado?

You can tell the difference between a brown and a rotten avocado because when it’s rotten, in other words, contaminated by a fungus or bacteria, the avocados become black and have almost no structure, being totally mushy and overly soft. The smell of a rotten avocado is also a distinguished feature, since it has a sour smell.

Other FAQs about Avocado that you may be interested in.

Are avocado leaves safe to eat?

What does avocado taste like?

Why is avocado so expensive?

Conclusion

In this brief guide, we have discussed the question:“Can you eat an avocado when it’s brown?” We also have addressed why avocados become brown and darker, the different types of avocados, the benefits or harm caused by the ingestion of that kind of food and how you can tell the difference between brown and rotten avocados.

Hope you found this blog useful. If you have any questions, please let us know.