The Grey family has ripened a fair few avocados over the last 60 years. You won’t see any of us trying to check ripeness by ‘feel’ or by squeezing avocados or by the universally recommended test of pressing the stem end, all of which are guaranteed to bruise the flesh.

Our reliable way to detect ripeness in avocados is to probe the flesh with a toothpick, done through the stem end of the fruit as the top of an avocado is the last part to ripen.

We think this is the best method with all varieties, especially those with a thicker skin where the “feeling” of ripeness is almost impossible to assess by hand. Fruit tested our way should hold in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, or in the case of our Green-skin varieties, even longer.

Take it from us, this is how it’s done:

PROCEDURE:

1. Gently flick the stem; if it doesn’t come off, try again next day
2. When the stem does come off, gently probe the flesh through the stem hole with a toothpick
3. If the toothpick glides through the flesh to the stone, the avocado is ready to eat or refrigerate – in optimum condition.