Dark Spots in Avocado

Black Avocados - Dark Spots in Avocado

What are the causes of the dark spots in my avocado?

Avocados are a perishable fruit that some times is damaged by cold storage while the fruit is in transit to the grocery store.  This happens prior to the fruit beginning the ripening process.  In addition, the handling and care of the fruit can cause bruising as a result of excess handling.  Unfortunately, there is no way to tell whether or not the  avocado will cut open with  black spotsby looking at the fruit from the outside.  The best method to ensure quality and consistent avocados is to order online through  www.californiaavocadosdirect.com.  If you happen to cut an  avocado open and find the  black dots, simply remove them by cutting with knife or spoon.

Late in the  avocado season, as the fruit matures and contains high amounts of oil, avocados can also develop brown spots in them.  This is a result of over-ripening and high oil content.  This typically occurs when the  avocado is well past the point it should be eaten.  At this stage, the fruit is very ripe and may have changed flavor as well as have a rancid smell.  I don't recommend eating avocados that are over ripe. 

Step 1 Check the color Look at the avocado’s color. Avocados that aren’t yet ripe are pale to dark green. Ripe avocados are dark green to greenish-brown, and an avocado that is dark brown to black is rotten.

 Quick Tip:

Avocados reach peak ripeness just before they begin to rot. If the avocado has only slightly rotten parts inside, it’s still good to eat.

Step 2 Pull out the stem Determine if an avocado is rotten by prying the stem from the top of the avocado. If the bottom of the stem is mushy, black, or mildewed, the avocado is probably rotten.

Step 3 Feel the avocado Pick up the avocado. If it is hard and unyielding, it isn’t ripe yet. If it’s overly soft and mushy, it’s rotten.

Step 4 Cut it open Cut open the avocado with a knife. If it’s dark green near the skin and pale green near the stone, it’s ripe. But if the meat is separated, stringy, and brown or black, it’s rotten. If the meat of a ripe avocado is exposed to air, it’ll brown quickly, but you can skim off the top layer and still use the avocado.

Safety First: How to Handle the Over-Ripe Avocado

POSTED ON  MAY 22, 2012  BY DEELEEO

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Avocados have secured a title among the firmament of great super foods because of its high content in folate, potassium, vitamins E, C and K. It serves as a good antioxidant because it is an excellent source of glutathione, a molecule primarily used by the liver to sop up free radicals. In addition, the buttery fruit is high in monounsaturated fat which helps lower bad LDL cholesterol and increase good HDL cholesterol—it is too good, and so true.

Avocados can be had savory or sweet, but is most commonly found in the ever-popular guacamole dip. In preparing the fruit for any purpose, most people slice the fruit in half and approach it with a spoon. I’ve found that the best way to extract the meat is to quarter the avocado and peel the skin away from it like a banana. I do this because an avocado can have bruises or be affected by plant pathogens just under the skin. If you scoop the meat out, it’s harder to assess the quality of the fruit.

It’s unsightly….but is it still safe to eat?

According to Christine Bruhn, an avocado expert from UC Davis, cosmetically flawed parts– browning flesh or unsightly patches under the skin–does not mean that the entire avocado needs to be sacrificed. Salvaging the unaffected portions of the avocado is perfectly acceptable practice. Plant pathogens that affect avocados, such as Botryosphaeria and Fusicoccum fungi are generally not known to cause disease in humans. However, if the fruit becomes so overly ripe that the taste morphs toward unfamiliar territory, or is obviously moldy and rotten, you’re better off tossing it. Christine also debunked the widely held belief that if you leave the seed in your guacamole it would keep the dip from browning. She explains that the browning is due to oxidization. Once the fruit has been festively mashed up, the seed doesn’t keep the meat from coming in contact with the air. It’s best to eat all your guacamole in one sitting while it’s fresh, but if you must save it, sealing the dip with plastic wrap (with the plastic making direct contact) may be used for the short-term.

Avocados are a permanent item on my grocery list so that I could incorporate it in my diet daily, but keeping them fresh can be tricky. As a rule of thumb, I only buy the fruit when it is still firm, and I allow them to ripen at home. When they appear ready to consume, storing them in the fridge extends the shelf life for up to a week. Steve Dreistadt, an agricultural expert from the University of California explained that avocados are often imported from various regions of the world; Mexico, Chile, Dominican Republic, and California just to name a few. Generally, these regions take turns in harvesting the fruit so that avocados are available year round. Lucky us!

牛油果又称为酪梨，因为外形像梨，外皮粗糙又像鳄鱼头，因此人们也常称其为鳄梨或油梨。牛油果果肉柔软似乳酪，色黄，风味独特，含多种维生素、丰富的脂肪和蛋白质,钠、钾、镁、钙等含量也高。是一种高能低糖水果，有降低胆固醇和血脂，保护心血管和肝脏系统等作用，今天就请潘阿姆教教大家如何挑选牛油果。

牛油果和猕猴桃一样，都是摘下后放熟的，市场上有卖熟透的也有卖生的。生的牛油果为青绿色，摸起来很硬，需要在室温存放两三天才能熟。

潘阿姆说，如果当天要吃的话就买熟的牛油果，选择时要看一看，按一按，确保成熟又不坏。一般来说，牛油果在熟透的时候外皮会变黑，表面出现深棕色斑点，表面深棕色的斑点越多，说明越成熟，如果果皮基本被深深浅浅的棕色斑点覆盖，建议就不要买了，说明有可能熟过头而变质。

然后就需要动手按一按，如果软硬适中，稍微可以感觉按得动，那就是最适合食用的状态。如果按起来很硬，那就说明还未成熟。如果按下去局部是软的，有些地方却很硬，最好别买。如果按起来很软，就说明果肉已经烂了。

最后还可以切开一个看看，里面若是嫩嫩的黄绿色，没有黑斑的话则是最佳状态的牛油果。如果果肉出现局部发黑接近腐烂，那可能是被挤压伤了；如果肉果出现明显的黑丝成块，那就是坏的，不能食用。

潘阿姆还提出，在室温下放熟以后的牛油果在冰箱的蔬菜盒里可保存一周左右。牛油果果肉暴露在空气中容易变黑，如果一次只吃半个，务必要将有核的那半个保留，不要去核，洒上柠檬汁，再用保鲜膜包好，放入冰箱即可。