Edit: 10/23 I took a lot of advice from here, I bought an avocado yesterday and I tried it today. It was perfect! The taste was incredible. I didn’t need to salt/season it to hide anything. I am in a different state right now but when I get home I’ll buy one at home using my knowledge I now have and hopefully it’ll be perfect. Maybe I was picking out the wrong avocados & there’s nothing wrong with me. We’ll see, but I’m excited to have a good tasting avocado for the first time in a long time.

Edit: I’m reading your replies I promise. The app I’m using is bugging out and it’s not letting me reply. I’ll log in on the browser later and reply. Thank you everyone!

I love Avocado. When I go to the store I’ll pick out a green one that’s firm, and I’ll eat it once it starts to get slightly soft. The problem is more than 90% of the time they’re no good. They have a gross taste, almost like it’s spoiled. I can’t blame the store, I’ve tried Aldi, Walmart, Kroger, Trader Joe’s and they all have the weird gross taste. Maybe it’s the supplier, the type of avocado (hass i believe) or maybe it’s just me. By the way the only reason I try and try again is because our avocados are cheap. .65-85 cents and I get one a week. (Maybe my region is getting garbage avocados?)

Anytime I go to a restaurant and order anything with avocado, it’s always perfection. I would rather eat a good avocado than any desert and this is coming from someone who loves desert and doesn’t eat as many fruits or vegetables as I should.

So what should I be doing to get a good avocado from the grocery store?

I’ve tried googling and following those directions but nothings working. Maybe Lemmy knows something Google doesn’t?

Also I’ve tried getting them when they’re soft, firm, green, darker, I’ve put them in the fridge, I’ve tried combinations of things and nothing that I’ve notice has worked.

🥑

    • Seasm0ke@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      This comment is truth. Especially the stem nub. If its ripe enough just a little forward poke rolls the nub off the skin.

      • a former prep Cook who makes a mean guacamole.
    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      That could be my issue. We don’t have long avocados they’re all small and round. I’ll be on the lookout though

  • Donebrach@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Take your non-dominant hand and cross the thumb over to the base of the pinky finger. Then with your dominant hand index finger, push on the meaty bit of your plam beneath your thumb and remember that feeling—This is the same firmness/softness ratio of a perfectly ripe avocado.

    Also salt your damn avocado and don’t eat the rind.

  • McTavern@lemmy.ml
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    9 months ago

    One thing not mentioned is look at the top of the avacado. If the stem end is flush with the top, you’re going to have a rubbery avacado. If it’s bulbous, ie the stem end is off to the side with some of the fruit coming over top, it’s going to be a good one. A flush top means the picked it too soon and it will never be good.

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      The avocado I picked out based on the stem turned out perfectly. I loved the taste and I didn’t need to season it at all to hide anything. Thank you.

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      I bought an avacado with the stem off to the side with the fruit going slightly above the stem. I think it’ll be ready tomorrow to eat.

      Disclaimer I am also in a different state at the moment so they might not be the same avacados I get at home. I’ll update how this one turns out.

  • vivavideri@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    My girlfriend tells me I have the magic touch because I usually pick out good ones. The issue I run into more than anything is how volatile any given produce department can be. Some places will only keep rock hard ones stocked, or maybe they have some regular early morning shopper who religiously buys all the ripe ones before you even get there.

    If you’re the sociable type, schmooze with the produce folks at Kroger/trader joe’s and they’ll probably be able to tell you when the best time is to come, or maybe they can be assed to leave more not-rock avocados out.

  • 👁️👄👁️@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    If they’re rock solid, they’re not ripe yet. If they start to get soft, they’re ripe. If they’re too soft, they’re bad.

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      That’s pretty much what I’ve been going for. Maybe something’s wrong with me

  • cabbagee@sopuli.xyz
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    9 months ago

    Two things your restaurant might be doing that you don’t at home:

    • Spritzing a little lemon on the avocado to keep it looking fresh.
    • Salt.

    Maybe these will make a difference for you.

  • itwasawednesday@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Wiggle the little stalk at the top, if it wiggles nicely, it’s ripe. Takes a little to get the feel for wiggle to ripe ratio, but it’s a really good indicator.

    • forgotaboutlaye@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I’ve had a few experiences recently where the stem wiggled, and the skin was browned nicely, but when I cut into it and tried to peel it, the bottome part was extremely hard and difficult to separate from the peel, but the top part was easily peeled and ready to eat – Do you know what causes that or how to avoid it?

  • Doorbook@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I think better if you would take a video of pictures of a new one you bought and share it. Cut it open as well. The price depends on your location and the season. Its hard to describe the perfect softness. But it shouldn’t be soft like tomato or a boild eggs. More like a cucumber or an orange.

    Again sharing a video you would help alot.

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      Next time I get an avocado I’ll make a video. I try for the cucumber feeling. That seems to be about my best success rate for a good avocado

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      8 months ago

      I got some pictures of an avacado I bought but it’s not letting me upload it right now. I’ll try again tomorrow and I’ll try the avacado I bought tomorrow as well. Disclaimer I’m in a different state so it might be a different avacado then the one I get at home. It doesn’t say on the sticker but it looks the same

  • BeefHouse@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    This sounds like my experience with Reid Avocados… I find Hass way superior. But I let them get so ripe sometimes there’s white flecks forming around the stem. Are colour are your avocados when you eat them? Hass avocados go very dark, almost black skinned by the time I eat them Reid Avocados tend to be very bright green, and even still only a darkish green by the time they are ready to eat

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      We only have Haas from what I’ve seen, I would love to try a different type. Once the haas go black they get very very soft for me and I assume they’re bad. Can I store them so the skin goes black but the inside stays safe to eat?

      • BeefHouse@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        As long as the flesh inside is still green then they are still good to eat. Only once the insides are going brown are they going bad… and you can tell from how lame it tastes. Once they feel slightly soft I’ll usually put them in the fridge to slow the ripening down a bit. An ultra soft Hass with bright green flesh is optimal!!

  • antlion@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    9 months ago

    Avos can bruise before they are soft. The bruises go sour before the whole fruit is soft. Most grocery stores absolutely abuse the fruits. Find a store that doesn’t. Look for a single layer, not a pyramid, heap, or pile. Costco keeps them in the flat boxes.

    Anyway the restaurants buy them wholesale and they’re cared for in nice flat boxes so they can ripen beautifully.

  • angrystego@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I’m only able to buy a good dark avocado, so I can’t help you with the green type. I buy them when they’re really soft to the touch, more like the mentioned tomato than like a cucumber, but not so soft that I could deform them. I love putting avocados on bread instead of butter, so I prefer them really soft. I don’t use lemon nor salt, I like them just the way they are.

  • walter_wiggles@lemmy.nz
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    9 months ago

    You should ask a friend to prepare an avocado for you. Take yourself out of the equation. If you don’t like it then maybe you don’t like plain avocado?

    • J12@lemmy.worldOP
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      9 months ago

      I see what you’re saying but when I do get a good avocado from the store and it’s perfect I always eat them plain.

      At a Mexican restaurant I’ll ask for avocado on the side 10 out of 10 times it’s amazing. I guess they might season it. But I know for sure I’ve had a plain avocado that I’ve made that I love, it’s just so rare.

      My girlfriend has prepared me plain avocado and it has the success rate that I have. Most of the time it tastes terrible but sometimes it’s perfectly fine. She won’t eat avocado so I can’t figure out if it’s me and no one else I know eats them either

      • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        A little lemon or lime juice and salt can help a not-quite-perfect avocado pass for better than it is. Enjoy your perfect plain ones, but try and see if it can salvage the others for you.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      As a side note here, it’s usually a good idea to pick avocados that are slightly un-ripe and let them ripen at home;

      • Zadkine@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        And when they reach park ripeness, put them in the fridge and they stay good for a few days.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        Yup. I usually pick 1 ripe avacado to eat within a day and then a few (or a lot of) unripe ones to let ripen over the week.