# Regarding avocados **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301 "2006-03-28T21:41:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/1 "2006-03-28T21:41:52Z")
I cut open an avocado this evening, only to find that it was not quite ripe - tomorrow evening should do it. So I put the two halves back together, wrapped them in clingfilm, and put the ensemble on the kitchen shelf. Good enough, or should I just chuck it? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/2 "2006-03-28T21:55:16Z")
I don’t know if it will get any riper that way, just try. In my experience the avocadohalves won’t be any worse tomorrow then they were today. They’ll be fine as long as air can’t reach them. As I often prepare my avocado’s with lemon juice anyway, I sprinkle some lemon juice over a halved avocado (and then I wrap it in clingfilm) to keep it from turning brown. The vitamin C in the lemon juice acts as an anti-oxidant. Get them out of the fridge in time, though. Cold avocados don’t have much taste. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/3 "2006-03-28T21:59:11Z")
Plus cold retards ripening. If you buy avocados which are underripe, you should leave them on the counter for a couple days until they begin to get soft. Then slap 'em in the fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/4 "2006-03-28T22:00:10Z")
I’m not sure about the ripening but it will certainly keep OK. I store them in the refrigerator for several weeks after cutting them. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/5 "2006-03-28T22:07:18Z")
_Avocado_ has an interesting etymology, too. From my electronic dictionary: > [@](#): > > The history of _avocado_ takes us back to the Nahuatl (the language of the Aztecs) word _ahuacatl_,“fruit of the avocado tree” or “testicle.” The word _ahuacatl_ was compounded with others, as in _ahuacamolli_, meaning “avocado soup or sauce,” from which the Spanish-Mexican word _guacamole_ derives. In trying to pronounce _ahuacatl_, the Spanish who found the fruit and its Nahuatl name in Mexico came up with _aguacate_, but other Spanish speakers substituted the form _avocado_ for the Nahuatl word because _ahuacatl_ sounded like the early Spanish word _avocado_ (now _abogado_), meaning “lawyer.” In borrowing the Spanish _avocado_, first recorded in English in 1697 in the compound _avogato_ pear (with a spelling that probably reflects Spanish pronunciation), we have lost many of the traces of the more interesting Nahuatl word. There ya have it. Conclusive evidence that lawyers have long been considered equivalent to testicles. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/6 "2006-03-28T22:36:22Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I’m not sure about the ripening but it will certainly keep OK. I store them in the refrigerator for several weeks after cutting them. Several weeks? That sounds extremely wrong to me. Make a record next time you do that; I’d like to hear back. Fruits, before they’re cut, are still alive. They have an immune system. Cutting it in half will have logical consequences. I would be surprised if it continued to ripen, rather than just start to rot; please report back. And it’s my experience that refrigeration doesn’t so much diminish the flavor as damage the fruit: it’s a semitropical fruit, and if an avocado orchard got hit with a refrigerator’s temperature, the fruits would turn black and fall off from the cold. Like, how bananas, a tropical fruit, turns black in the fridge. Not all tropical fruits do that of course; my theory is that it’s the fruits with a higher fat content, and the fat congeals in the cold and screws up the circulation. Perhaps a more knowledgeable person will chime. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/7 "2006-03-28T22:38:01Z")
Banana skins do blacken in the fridge, but the fruit itself is not actually damaged, at least in the short term. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/8 "2006-03-28T22:44:23Z")
Don’t put them in the fridge. Put them in a bag with a banana, which allegedly releases some sort of hormone that ripens other fruit. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/9 "2006-03-28T22:56:43Z")
Let’s get a definitive answer to buying, ripening and storing avocados, shall we: [http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/avocado/avocado.htm](http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/avocado/avocado.htm) [http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/vegetables-guide/buying-storing-avocados.php](http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/vegetables-guide/buying-storing-avocados.php) [http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/tips?tipID.4338](http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/tips?tipID.4338) > **[Avocados – Learn All About Avocados](https://whatscookingamerica.net/avocado.htm)** > >   Types of Avocados The two most widely marketed avocado varieties are the rough-skinned, almost black Hass and the smooth, thin-skinned green Fuerte.  The Hass has a smaller pit and Each of these (and almost every other site that turns up on a Google search for “buying avocados” or “ripening avocados”) agrees substantially with what I said. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/10 "2006-03-28T22:59:06Z")
**Jimm** , that’s [ethylene.](http://plantphys.info/Plants_Human/fruitgrowripe.html) > [@](#): > > The ripening bananas produce so much ethylene that you can use them as a tool to ripen other fruits. Take those green pears home and put them on the shelf in a paper bag with a banana. The banana at room temperature produces ethylene that will signal the green pears to start ripening immediately. The paper bag holds the ethylene in stagnant air around the fruits, yet allows oxygen to go into the bag for respiration in the fruits…needed to make the enzymes! In just a few days the pears should be ready to eat! You can do the same with avocados. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/11 "2006-03-28T23:01:47Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Several weeks? That sounds extremely wrong to me. Make a record next time you do that; I’d like to hear back. There’s no need to make a record. I’ve been doing it for at least 20 years. Avocados keep fine for long periods in the refrigerator. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2006, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/12 "2006-03-28T23:03:38Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Then slap 'em in the fridge. There’s a joke here, but as yet it has eluded me. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/13 "2006-03-29T04:55:00Z")
I am amused by the number of people who think **Quartz** has put his avocados in the fridge. Having done exactly what **Quartz** has done, I think his produce won’t ripen wrapped in plastic. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/14 "2006-03-29T06:15:03Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > There’s a joke here, but as yet it has eluded me. Think that UncleBeer is going ahead on with the abogado lawyer thing. He’s smart like that. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2006, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/15 "2006-03-29T07:59:37Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > Let’s get a definitive answer to buying, ripening and storing avocados, shall we: > > [http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/avocado/avocado.htm](http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/vegetables/avocado/avocado.htm) > [Buying and Storing Avocados](http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/vegetables-guide/buying-storing-avocados.php) > [http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/tips?tipID.4338](http://www.mealsforyou.com/cgi-bin/tips?tipID.4338) > [http://whatscookingamerica.net/avacado.htm](http://whatscookingamerica.net/avacado.htm) > > Each of these (and almost every other site that turns up on a Google search for “buying avocados” or “ripening avocados”) agrees substantially with what I said. And, just in case you missed it, let’s repost his earlier statement: > [@UncleBeer](#): > > There ya have it. Conclusive evidence that lawyers have long been considered equivalent to testicles I haven’t checked out all the references, but I’m impressed. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/16 "2006-04-01T14:53:32Z")
Well, it took a little longer than anticipated, but I had it for lunch today and it was good. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/17 "2006-04-01T15:26:41Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > There ya have it. Conclusive evidence that lawyers have long been considered equivalent to testicles. yeah - big ones. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/18 "2006-04-01T15:49:42Z")
To find exactly how long avocados will take to ripen, with and without ethylene, you need to factor in Avocado’s number. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/19 "2006-04-01T16:58:48Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > it took a little longer than anticipated Actually, this is the part of the thread that I’ve been having trouble with: the idea that an avocado would actually sit around uneaten for more than, say, eighteen microseconds. I mean, it’s all I can to not to tear off the peel and devour the thing in the line at the grocery store. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-avocados/350301/20 "2006-04-01T17:26:53Z")
How odd. I did that exact thing just last week to two small not quite ripe avocados. One I cut lightly into and it ripened (sealed in a bag) in a bag OK, and the other I cut deeply into (& sealed in a bag) did not ripen any further & I had to chuck it. I think (WAG) there’s a point at which the damage to the avocado skin &/or-fruit is such that the ripening process cannot continue.