Avocadoes

Did you know that no Avocados ripen on trees? It's actually the harvesting (picking) action that triggers the ripening process!

To take some of the 'guess work' out of ripening for consumers, many wholesalers ensure that Australian Avocados are delivered to retail stores about a day or two before they are ripe.

To ripen an Avocado, place the fruit in a plain brown paper bag and store at room temperature until ready to eat. This will usually take two to five days. Including an apple or banana in the bag accelerates the process, as these fruits give off ethylene gas - a ripening agent.

Ripe fruit can be refrigerated until eaten, however, not for more than two or three days.

There is no quicker way to ripen Avocados. A natural fruit requires a natural process

Avocados are a surprisingly complete food, with fourteen minerals to stimulate growth, including iron and copper for your blood. The sodium and potassium in avocados keeps your body chemically balanced, and their low sugar content and absence of starch make them an ideal fruit for diabetics or hypoglycemic (choose small slices throughout the day to keep your sugar balanced). Vitamins in avocados include A, several B-complex, C, and E, as well as phosphorus and magnesium. They’re also a great source of antioxidants like vitamins E and C.

Because of their density, avocados, like bananas, are filling. But they are also a perfectly digestible slow-burning fuel, making them ideal for replenishing nutrients for athletes. They’re a great source of fruit oil and digestible fats, and they make excellent and healthy dips for raw vegetables. When blended with fruit, they make particularly nutritious baby food