How To Preserve Avocado
To preserve avocados, cut the ripe avocado in half lengthwise. Remove the pit and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Now blend the flesh with 1 tablespoon of lime juice, transfer the puree to a freezer bag and place it in the freezer.
If you know that you are not going to have access to avocados any time soon, you may want to consider freezing them for use at a later date. Place slices or pieces of avocado onto a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet, then freeze slices or pieces for at least 4 to 6 hours, then transfer to a zipper-lock bag and store in up to 2 months.
You can then spray the avocado pieces evenly with lemon juice before freezing so that they will not turn brown. To prevent the avocado halves that are fresh and ready to go from turning brown, seal the flesh with a squeeze of lemon, lime, or olive oil, then tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. To salvage cut avocado, rub exposed flesh with lemon juice, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and store refrigerated.
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Place each avocado (or half) into a freezer-safe bag, sealing tight with the air pockets from pressing against the avocado. When you are ready to use, take the desired number of halves from the freezer bag and let thaw in a bowl at room temperature, for about two hours. Use your spoon to scoop out each half of an avocado, then transfer to a plastic bag with the zipper closure, or to a silicone food-storage bag.
The best way to freeze avocados is to wash them, slice them in half, use your spoon to scoop out each half, and transfer the split avocado flesh into the zip-top bag. Use the spoon to scoop out the avocado flesh, then put the two halves in the bowl or the food processor once you have removed the brown bits. If you already scooped the avocado flesh, that is fine; you can still salvage the darker sides. Chances are, a little bit of avocado flesh will get brown, but you can always scrape and throw away the bits when you are ready to enjoy leftovers.
Ways | Explanation |
How to Freeze Ripe Avocado | A ripe avocado can be frozen in chunks or half, mashed or pureed, and preserved for 4-6 months. |
Prevention | To prevent browning, squeeze in some lemon juice and carefully wrap the avocado in plastic or use a vacuum sealer. |
When you scrape away the skin, you will discover a cool, ripe, creamy avocado that you can use in just about any dish. If your avocado is ripe, put your whole, uncut avocado into a sealed container or the produce drawer of the fridge. Another way to store a half-avocado is to put it (pit-side down) in an airtight container with just a little bit of water in the bottom. While you can buy some fancy solutions for preserving a half avocado, the easiest way to store a piece of the fruit is to rub olive oil or lime juice all over the fruit, then wrap the whole thing tightly with plastic wrap (the skin side included) and store in the fridge.
A half of an avocado that is left over can keep for up to 3 days in the fridge, depending on its ripeness. Whole avocados are far easier to store than avocado halves since the skin protects the flesh from oxidation. If you do not like the idea of squeezing the avocados beforehand and mixing with the lime juice, you can freeze the whole avocados. One of the best ways to store avocados is to crush them with some acidic lemon or lime juice (to keep from browning and to keep their color) then freeze the puree.
Once defrosted, avocados can turn brown once defrosted, so either use them immediately or throw some lemon or lime juice in before freezing. When you are ready to use your frozen avocado, the best way to thaw them is to place them in the fridge overnight. To thaw, put the frozen avocado into a cold water bath for thirty minutes or allow to thaw in the fridge overnight.
While this might buy you some time (if you are using lots of butter), the avocados will turn brown by the end of the day. If your avocado is clearly spoiled, or is more than 35% brown throughout, you should toss it. If you store an unripe avocado in the fridge, it will ripen eventually, but texture and flavor will likely be compromised. If your ripe avocado does not smell terrible, and has a few good, solid green spots left, you can probably slice off the bad parts, and freeze the good parts anyway.
Just know that freezing avocado changes the fruits creamy texture, so although you can still use your frozen avocados for guacamole or in a smoothie, you will not want to eat them plain. The end texture is not quite as creamy as fresh fruit, which is why I am not fond of using frozen avocados in salads or cutting it up to make avocado toast once frozen. Some frozen chunks of store-bought avocado are coated with ascorbic acid, giving them a slight acidic flavor.
While avocado flesh itself holds up well when frozen, the onions, tomatoes, and herbs in guacamole become loose and watery once it is defrosted. Avocado flesh begins to turn black very quickly once exposed to air, so it is important to work with the meat quickly after you have cut the avocado. Freezing the avocados in a puree is the best technique, as this will guarantee that citrus juices penetrate the entire flesh, keeping it from turning brown.
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The acidity of lemon juice helps to prevent oxidation, and so does restricting how much oxygen comes in contact with cut avocado flesh. The citric acid in fresh lemon juice helps prevent ripe, green avocado flesh from turning brown.
The air on top of the freezer-safe container will turn the avocado puree brown, so place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper on top of the pureed fruit to keep it from turning dark. Simply scoop avocados into the ice-cube trays, pressing the plastic wrap against the avocados surface so that air does not enter.
Once the slices or cubes have individually frozen, you can transfer to a sealed container or freezer bag and store them in the freezer. To make a puree, simply put the avocado into your food processor and pulse it until pureed. Spoon your mashed avocados into your freezer-safe container, leaving an 1″ gap at the top–food expands when frozen, and it will push your container lid down if you do not leave enough room.
Can I freeze avocado?
A ripe avocado can be frozen in chunks or half, mashed or puréed, and preserved for 4-6 months. To prevent browning, squeeze in some lemon juice and carefully wrap the avocado in plastic or use a vacuum sealer.
What is the best way to preserve avocados?
If you have cut your avocados, you should store them in an airtight container or inside an aluminum foil and place them in the refrigerator. Make sure that you leave the avocado pit inside to help slow down the oxidation process in at least half of the avocado. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice to your avocados to ensure maximum preservation.
How do you preserve an avocado for a month?
To ensure the long-term preservation of your avocados, freezing is the only effective method. NCHFP recommends mashing ripe avocados into a puree before freezing because whole or sliced avocados do not freeze well. It is also advised that you add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to every two avocados to preserve their color.