Three Weird Wordly Hacks To Ripen Hard Avocados

Avocados are temperamental fruits. Sometimes they can be rock hard for a week and then instantly go rotten. What to do when you just really need that creamy avo toast and don’t have the patience to wait until peak ripeness? Try these three strange tips, which are said to soften avocados in a fraction of the time.

Pop them in a sock

Years ago, Diane Sherwood discovered a nifty trick for ripening avocados in order to make fresh vats of guac for her catering business—putting them in wool ski socks. Realizing this was a technique avocado fans everywhere would appreciate, she now sells specially made all-wool avocado socks designed to prevent bruising while speeding up the ripening process.

According to her website, the “lanolin and warmth of the wool ripens avocados evenly and gently,” so you get that satisfying squishiness with no brown splodges.

Leave them in a paper bag

This one is more widely practiced, and incidentally it’s endorsed by the Hass Avocado Board. Place your hard avo in a brown paper bag with a banana or an apple for a couple of days. They both release the plant hormone ethylene, which then gets trapped inside the bag, encouraging the avocado to ripen alongside its neighboring fruit.

A lesser-known tactic is to place them in a bag with baking flour, which helps absorb any residual moisture, giving the avocado a near-perfect silky consistency.

Put them in the oven

This hack also relies on ethylene, but the avocado’s own supply this time. Wrap your fruit in tin foil and put it in the oven, pre-heated to 200 degrees fahrenheit. Leave it to bake for around an hour, during which time it will start to produce ethylene, which, trapped by the foil, will speed up ripening. In 6o minutes, voilà! Your avocado should be mashable.

Some connoisseurs say the results of this method aren’t as delicious, but it’s a good one to know if you’re really short on time.

About the author

Esme Benjamin

Wellness Editor

Born and raised in Bristol, England, Esme has been geeking out over syntax her entire life. She studied English Lit by the Brighton seaside before moving to London to pursue her writing career in 2009, going on to work for Grazia Daily, The Telegraph and SheerLuxe. In 2013 she swapped The Big Smoke for The Big Apple, where she trained as a yoga teacher and contributed to Refinery29, Self, Fitness Magazine and Greatist. When she's not glued to her laptop or iPhone you'll find her drinking Kale Margaritas at an East Village happy hour, planning her next adventure, or hand-standing (with more vigor than skill) at the yoga studio.