Robbie Sigona’s Produce Tips: Avocados

There are three stages of avocado ripeness:

• Ripe and ready to eat avocados will be slightly soft to the touch and darker in color than when it’s green. Eat them now, or keep them in the fridge for 5-7 days more. You’ll notice a brightly-colored ‘ripe’ sticker on these in the store.

• Breaking will be firmer, yet still slightly soft to the touch. You can store them at room temperature till they’re ripe, then refrigerate. You can also put them in the fridge earlier; where they will continue to ripen, but at a slower rate.

• Green can last a couple of weeks, depending on the time of year and temperature. They typically take 4-5 days to ripen. My family usually uses three or four a week. We’ll buy two ripe and two breaking, and use them accordingly.

• If you plan to serve the fruit in a few days, stock up on hard, unripe fruit.

How to cut an avocado:

• You could buy an avocado slicer if you like, but you don’t need to. Cut it the way you would a peach: hold a paring knife in one hand and the avocado in the other. Start at the stem and cut it in half lengthwise until the knife meets the pit. Next keep your knife hand still, while you turn the avocado all the way around, guiding the knife (the knife stays resting against the pit). Take out the knife and gently twist the two halves apart. Gently remove the pit with a spoon. Now you can scoop it out with a spoon, or slice it in its skin and scoop out the diced pieces.

Robbie Sigona is our produce buyer. He works with local farmers and scours the market for the very best in fresh fruits and vegetables — some you won’t find anywhere else.