RIPENING TIPS
Just some useful ripening information for those getting fruit. This will help improve the quality of the fruit.
* Store in a cool place out of direct sunlight.
* If you keep them in the box all together you will notice they will ripen a lot more rapidly. If you have one ripe one in the bowl, then everything will ripen so much more quickly, so remove any ripening ones immediately if you don't want the others to ripen quickly.
* You can pop them in the fridge immediately and pull out the ones that you want to ripen and this will slow ripening significantly, especially if you have more than you can eat. However the optimal way is to note the colour and fridge them at the right time.
BRIGHT GREEN
Avocado is bright green and firm to touch. Pop it back in the fruit bowl.
DARKER GREEN
Starting to ripen, but not quite ready to put in the fridge. Watch it more closely at that point as it is probably no more than a day away from going in the fridge.
DARK GREEN AND STARTING TO TURN PURPLE
This is sort of ripe. The skin will give a little when slightly squeezed. Squeeze very gently, you don't want to damage your fruit! The colour will be a dark green turning purplish. You can eat this avocado and it will be a bit firm. This is the ideal time to put it in the fridge.
PURPLE
This is fully ripe and ready to be eaten now! It's dark brown/purplish/blackish...you know the colour. It might last another few days if kept chilled in the fridge.
BLACK
Overripe.
DAYS UNTIL RIPE
July 14-21 days
August 12-18 days
September 11-14 days
October 10-13 days
November 8-11 days
December 7-10 days
January 6-8 days
February 5-7 days
March 4-5 days
April 3-4 days
In summer our fruit ripens more quickly so we have the following additional conditions.
From December we can only ship South Island orders at the beginning of the week when we know it can be delivered within 2-3 days. i.e. we don’t recommend shipping on a short week.
From mid December we discourage South Island orders, they are at buyer's risk and there is a high risk of delayed delivery due to Christmas and statutory holidays.
From January we will only ship North Island orders when we are confident they can be delivered within 1-2 days. South Island orders are STRICTLY at buyer's risk. Shipping delays can result in fruit being overripe and one ripe fruit can ruin the box.
We will not ship windfalls to the South Island from mid December as we cannot guarantee when they came off the tree.
Fruit picked in July tends to be a firmer texture, and it gradually becomes more creamy as the season goes on. My favourite time of the year for harvest is September to November, although many say they prefer the later season fruit.
FREEZING AVOCADOS
Yes avocados can be frozen and there are many different methods from freezing whole to mashing it afterwards. Use google to research the methods and find the one that works for you. Frozen avocado does change texture and is best used for guacamole or smoothies. We recommend freezing when your avocado is “just ripe” for best results.
