Unlike half the population, she did not discover a love for avocados via Instagram. “I grew up on avocados. It’s one of the first foods your mom gives you,” says Jinich, of her childhood in Mexico City. “It just practically goes into everything—avocado from morning to night.” She’s continued with that habit, and even become a spokesperson for Avocados From Mexico, a role that’s made her experiment even more with the trendy fruit. (She made AvoNog instead of eggnog for the holidays, for example.) Given her expertise, we asked Jinich to share some key tips for buying, opening, and storing avos, since, let’s face it, while they have a reputation for being delicious, they’re also great at getting brown and mushy when you look away for 10 seconds. Here are five tips she shared to ensure that every avocado you touch ends up perfectly guacamole- or toast-ready.
- At the grocery store, use your hands. Ripe avocados have a stronger smell, sure, but you really need to pick them up to assess their readiness. When they’re ripe, they’ll be almost entirely black and soft to the touch. If it seems too mushy, put it right back.
- Choose a variety of ripeness levels. A big bag full of fresh, ripe avocados at a bulk price is tempting, but unless you’re making a tub of guacamole for a big party, it’s not going to work out. “What I do, and I think this gives you more freedom, is I buy for the week,” Jinich explains. “I look for green and rock hard (for the end of the week), and ripe and soft (for tomorrow).” That way the batch will ripen gradually and you can have perfect avos every day of the week. For the rest of Jinich’s avocado hacks, head on over to Well + Good.
