Why and how to store avocados without using all the space in the freezer

Before talking about how to store avocados, I’d like to address why we need to store them.

Last call for the local avocado

Dear friends of the northern hemisphere, the sweet fellowship of avocados grown in our latitudes is coming to an end (if you are on the opposite side of the globe, the wait is over for you: you can find two fabulous recipes here and here to enjoy them at their best).
From the month of May onwards, finding the local ones, or at most the national or continental ones, will be even more difficult, as the harvest will affect the plantations located in the southern hemisphere, that is in Peru, Chile and South Africa etc.. In order to avoid contributing to the traffic of the already inflated transportation of goods, with all that it entails negatively in terms of climate change, we should make a small stop in its consumption, exactly as we are used to with the beloved pumpkin, cauliflowers, pomegranate and chestnuts etc. (see in this article seasonal fruits and vegetables that you can find in the markets)… It’s not that because we always find a certain fruit or vegetable present on the counters, we can turn a blind eye to their origin!
Since we want to be ethical and fair with our food choices and consumption, we should take into account not only greenhouse gases, but also the precarious situation of the much-loved avocado in the producer countries beyond the ocean, where water is a rare and precious commodity. Multinationals, but also local farms, in order to monetize their investment and / or comply with the agreements with importers, use every drop of water available to quench these plants from the implacable thirst, turning the avocado concerned into “a forbidden fruit” for those who are sensitive to such issues.
On the other hand, however, especially for those who consume a limited amount of food of animal origin, the avocado is not only a “culinary vice” but also a concentrate of nutrients: so much so that it can be defined as super food.
As I explained in the article “All about avocado” this delicious fruit contains high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, useful to fight inflammation and keep the circulatory system healthy; carotenoids, tocopherol and beta-site sterol, or as Vitamin E, C, B9, K1, known enemies of free radicals and also minerals such as zinc, selenium and potassium. All these substances help to strengthen our immune defenses, for the fight against cardiovascular disease, infertility, cataracts and other eye diseases, dry skin and hair, etc.. Moreover, avocado provides precious glutathione which, besides being recognized as an excellent fortifying for the immune system and an effective detoxifier, helps to keep appetite at bay, giving a feeling of prolonged satiety. So parting with it for even 6 months can create an unbridgeable gap in conscious diets.
That’s why I think you’ll like the next chapter, because thanks to an honest “trick”, it will ease the painful wait for green gold without making you undergo “withdrawal symptoms”, but still remaining faithful to the principles of sustainability.
 

How to store avocados

If our ethical-solidarity conscience does not allow us to buy for 6 long months the most photogenic ingredient on our tables, there is no moral obstacle to consume what we have stored with care and love. On the other hand, the principles of its conservation are not very different from what is done with peas or beans!
The procedure is very easy, it consists in freezing the ripe fruit. Yes, during this process the ripening process is paused, so if you do not want to “preserve” the organoleptic qualities of an unripe (and therefore bitter) avocado or an overripe one (with brown spots on the flesh), use only the avocado ready to eat. To know how to choose it, or how to speed up or slow down the ripening process, you absolutely must read this article.
 

Ingredients and equipment needed

6-7 or more avocados
The juice of one lemon
a fork
a container and if you want to save space in the freezer an ice cream scoop
a tray lined with baking paper
a reusable bag without BPA or a freezer bag with a zipper

The procedure that I recommend involves a very practical and useful trick to increase the space in your freezer and not only: the mono doses are useful to be able to consume the right amount of product just in time, so you can enjoy it in the best gastronomic qualities. The ice cream scoop is not indispensable but it makes the work easy and clean; in its absence, you can also use the ice cube trays.

Extra tip

Learning how to store avocados is useful not only while waiting for the new harvest, but also during the season: for example when you have an avocado that is too big for one person! If you don’t want to or can’t eat it for 2 consecutive days, don’t risk wasting it; by following these tactics you will be able to keep all its characteristics at the top for the future occasions

Directions

Wash and dry the avocados and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon. We will need the lemon to prevent the halved avocados from becoming spotted by oxidizing with air.

Cut the avocado lengthwise; with a knife make mini squares by cutting through the avocado pulp; then transfer the avocado dices into a recipient and use a fork to mash the pulp as seen in the first video.

On top of the tray lined with baking paper, place the avocado balls produced using the scoop (see the second video); when the tray is full, you can place it in the freezer.

About 1 hour of chilling is enough time to create the frozen avocado mono doses, which you can quickly pour into the reusable bag and seal it. If the bag is well sealed and the temperature remains constant, the avocado balls will keep their goodness for up to 5-6 months.

Now you learn how to store avocados, but do you want to know how I consume them?

Before consuming them, I suggest you place the required quantity (2 balls for each person will be more than satisfactory) in the refrigerator for about 6-8 hours: this will ensure a gradual thawing, so as not to ruin the texture of the “no longer forbidden” fruit.
Enjoy your meal and have a good revolution

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