Can you eat an overripe avocado? (3 Tips)
In this brief guide, we will answer the question, can you eat an overripe avocado? We will discuss some stages of avocado ripening and methods which help to identify if an avocado is edible and tasty.
Can you eat an overripe avocado?
You can eat an overripe avocado. Over ripe avocados will not harm you, unless they are rotten. Avocados which have mold or fungus growing on them or smell different, need to be thrown away. Eating over ripe avocados are safe, but spoiled avocados can make you sick.
Avocados are an excellent source of Omega 3 and Omega 9 Fatty acids. Avocado provides us with Vitamin E, potassium, and natural oils. It helps to lower cholesterol, prevent heart diseases and cancer.
Is your avocado overripe or spoiled?
An overripe avocado is not only soft but mushy as well. When you squeeze it, it will leave a large indentation on the avocado skin. Visually, the fruit may have irregularities such as indentations, bruises, and marks. Moreover, a sunken or flat area that feels soft on avocado is an overripe indicator.
Do not buy an avocado that has dark blemishes.
A spoilt avocado will smell rancid. This is a sign of microbial spoilage. A chemical odor means that oxygen or microbes are starting to break down the oils. The inside is dark yellow or brown and smells rancid. The flesh inside is also dark and stringy.
You can also find some overripe avocados to have a mold on them. The mold can be white or gray with a fuzzy appearance. Mold on the skin gradually grows inside and makes the avocado inedible.
What are the different stages of avocado ripening?
Avocados ripen only after harvesting. Therefore, they are picked before they get a chance to soften. Interestingly, they are Dark green in an unripe state but change to purple-black as they ripen. The appearance is one of the ways that helps to narrow down your avocado selection process.
However, this is not your final answer, as avocado is a fascinating fruit. Its color is not always consistent with its ripening status. In other words, the avocado may be dark and visually seem ripe, but the interior has not changed at the same pace as the skin of the avocado has.
Avocados are seasonally harvested; after having matured on the tree. Maturity is attained when the avocado is still a part of the tree. After itis plucked off, the ripening process begins.
Raw Avocado
If the avocado feels firm rather than soft, this indicates that it still has four to five days to ripen. If you don’t intend to consume them sooner than that, then you can store them at room temperature until they are ready to be eaten.
Nearly-ripe Avocado
A breaking- avocado will be softer but resistant to the squeeze test. The breaking stage is not concluded by its color only. The inside of the avocado will be firm and not mashable. A near-ripe avocado lasts for 1-2 days at room temperature.
Ripe Avocado
Let’s talk about avocados that are ready to be served. Applying firm gentle pressure on the fruit will feel soft but not mushy either. It can be consumed the same day or stored in the fridge to prevent spoilage. A ripe avocado will also have a pleasant and sweet smell.
Overripe Avocado
The last stage of edible avocados, which is safe but not pleasant. As the overripe avocados rot, they will not be usable anymore.
How to check for the perfect avocado?
Before you get to the store, it is best to know the kind of avocado you want and how to assess it. Generally, a desirable avocado has big bulges at the top and the stem round with a thin seed coat.
When you have assessed the avocado color, now you need to feel the texture. First, watch out for bruises that indicate the health of the avocado. A bumpy bright green skin is an indication of unripeness. However, species like Zutano and Fuerte will not lose their green color even after ripening.
Hold the avocado in the palm of your hands and squeeze it very gently. Now analyze the firmness of your avocado using the criteria mentioned below.
Flick the avocado stem off the fruit. A ripe avocado will lose its stem and expose a green area. However, if the stem stays on it is under-ripe and if it shows a brown color then it is overripe.
In this brief guide, we answered the question, can you eat an overripe avocado? We discussed some stages of avocado ripening and methods which help to identify if an avocado is edible and tasty.
Other FAQs about Avocado which you may be interested in.
How long does avocado last once cut?
How to soften a cut avocado ( 5 ways)
How to pick an avocado at the grocery store?
