I've lost track of the number of times that I've heard someone say "I love avocados, but I never eat them because they go bad so quick". This statement pains me to the core, because this used to be me. I used to live in a world of low avocado consumption because I didn't know how to halt their tragic aging process from glorious green to darkest black. But then, thanks to advice from my mother and a few searches on the internet, I figured it out.
Today's post is a Public Service Announcement that you too can have avocados in your life. Let's take a look at how to get serious mileage out of your avocados.
First, let's talk about some popular methods that I don't use:
- Coating the leftover portion with lime or lemon juice and storing it in a sealed container. In theory this is supposed to halt the oxidation. In practice this is the best way I know of to waste both a lime and an avocado. Real life results: F-. You've seen me add lime juice to guacamole, but this is for taste, not preservation.
- Coating the leftover portion with oil and storing it in a sealed container. In theory this is supposed to add a barrier against oxygen. In practice I've found that this makes a mess and doesn't do anything to stop the browning. Another F-.
- C'mon, a little browning never hurt anyone. Man up and ignore it. I love this take on avocado management, but my inner picky child doesn't want to sit down to a plate of browned out avocado.
Now, let's talk about what does work:
- Leave the pit in the unused portion and wrap in saran wrap. Eat up over the next few days, taking care not to detach the pit from the unused portion. How many is a few days? My personal best is six days.
- Plan B if this approach isn't for you or if you can't find a ripe avocado when you need one. Holy Guacamole 100 calorie packs are a decent substitute. I don't like them for avocado toast, but they're great on burrito bowls and tacos.
Let's put this into practice and review a recent avocado toast week: four servings in four days.
Day 1: get up dark and early. Slice into a brand new avocado.
Admire the green goodness.
Leave the pit in the unused portion. Wrap in saran wrap and tuck away in the fridge.
Egg up.
Toast up. Thinly slice avocado in the shell.
Lightly squeeze the shell to extract the avocado.
Tap on a dusting of onion powder.
Add egg.
Day 2: oh no! The dreaded browning. Whatever will we do?
Answer: cut off the portion that you're going to eat. Note that the new cut reveals pristine green.
Slice off the microscopic brown portion and ta-da, you have perfectly good avocado underneath. Rewrap the unused portion and send it back to the fridge.
Dig into to the eggy avocado zen.
Day 3: oof, way brown on the outside. Still emerald green on the inside.
Devour.
Day 4: the pit finally comes out. Battle scared on the outside.
Still emerald green once the outer layer of brown is removed.
After three straight days of avocado toast, it's time to mix it up. How about an
avocado, sausage, and cheddar scramble?
Dear avocado, thank you for your service.
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