Did you know that Super Bowl season is the number one during the year for people to buy avocados? By some estimates, we Americans consume an estimated 250 million pounds of avocados leading up to football’s biggest weekend. The number two time of the year for avocados? Cinco de Mayo.
Chances are you’re enjoying ripe and delicious avocados, not on a salad or avocado toast but in guacamole. So, if you’ve got avocados on your shopping list in the coming weeks, you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know about buying, ripening and storing avocados along with how much you can expect to spend at local supermarkets.
Buying avocados
Avocados grow in warm climates like Southern California and Mexico. Therefore, they’re available year round, unlike Maine fresh blueberries. The good news is because you can buy avocados all the time, you likely won’t see a huge spike or dip in prices overall.
However, it is possible that Maine supermarkets may run promotions to get you to buy more avocados in January and February. If you do stumble across one of these deals, it might be a good idea to stock up. Because you may not realize it but you can freeze avocados.
Right now, I’ve spied the following prices for avocados at our Maine grocery stores. Note: these prices were current the day I wrote this article.
Hannaford
- Hannaford brand Haas Avocados, 4 count: $2.99
IGA
- Unknown. The store doesn’t share prices online.
Market Basket
- Unknown. The store doesn’t share prices online.
Shaw’s
- O Organic Hass Avocados, 3 count: $5.99
- Avocados Large Green Skin, 1 count: $2.99
- Hass Avocado, Large, 1 count: $1.25 or 4 for $5.0 SAVE up to:$ 0.96 on 4 (Valid for orders through 2/1/24)
Target
- Good & Gather Organic Hass Avocados, 4 count: $4.79
- Good & Gather Hass Avocados, 4 count: $3.39
Walmart
- Fresh Hass Avocados, Each: $.78
- Fresh Small Hass Avocado Bag, 5-6 Count: $2.36
- Fresh Large Hass Avocado Bag, 3- 4 Count: $3.98
- Fresh Organic Bagged Avocados, 3-4 Count: $2.96
Also, avocados are a SNAP EBT-eligible food.
How to choose an avocado
The biggest issue when choosing an avocado is making sure it is good. So, how can you tell if an avocado is ripe? Two things to look for:
- Color
- Firmness
Perfect avocado color
The darker the avocado skin is, the more ripe it likely is. In other words, a bright green or light green avocado hasn’t fully ripened yet.
It is not ready for you to cut into it to make guacamole or however you plan to use this fruit. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t buy it. More about how to ripen an avocado at home in a bit.
On the other hand, an avocado that is so dark it almost looks black, well, it could be past its prime. However, that’s where the second element of choosing an avocado comes in — firmness.
Firmness of avocado
A dark, almost black avocado that still feels firm is probably still good to eat. You just want to make sure that this firmness is all the way around the fruit. If you find any soft spots or if the skin has broken, then you don’t want to buy it. These are signs that an avocado has gone bad.
As far as a hard avocado, it definitely is not ripe. So, continue to check firmness to find one that’s not too hard and not too soft but one that’s just right. However, if there aren’t any available and you don’t need to use the avocado today, you can buy it and ripen at home.
How to ripen avocados at home
Most avocados need four to five days to achieve peak freshness. This assumes you brought home a bright green or hard avocado that isn’t close to ripening. You’ll help it along by keeping it out of direct sunlight and heat. A shady spot on a cool kitchen counter will work great.
If for some reason your avocados start ripening faster than expected, you needn’t drop everything and make guacamole right away. Instead, you can put the avocado in the refrigerator. The cool temperatures will slow down or stop the ripening process.
Ripening avocados quickly
Now, let’s say you need to ripen an avocado quickly? Like, you’re having a party soon and need to make guacamole. Then you’ll want to reach for a paper bag.
You may have used this ripening hack with green tomatoes or under-ripe peaches or pears. That is, you put a fruit you need to ripen in a paper bag with an apple. Then, close the bag. The apple emits chemicals that help the other fruit ripen quickly — possibly as fast as overnight.
How to store cut avocado
You’ve gotten your avocado where you want it, you’ve cut into it but you need only half of it to make your guacamole or avocado toast or healthy smoothie. How are you supposed to store the other half?
For starters, if you haven’t discarded the pit, don’t. Having the pit intact can help the avocado stay fresher longer.
Also, you’ll definitely want to put the cut avocado in the refrigerator. However, don’t just put them on a plate and close the refrigerator door. You’ll want to put the half or halves in some kind of air-tight storage container. This could be wrapped in plastic film, a glass jar with a screw-on top or plastic food storage containers.