When is an avocado ripe? Three reliable tests

The avocado has one of the narrowest ripeness windows of any fruit. Firm one day, perfect the next, past it three days later. The good news is that there are reliable ways to tell.

Colour alone is not enough — skin colour behaves differently from variety to variety. Texture is the real indicator.

Three reliable tests

• The palm test: Squeeze gently in the palm of your hand, not with a fingertip. If it gives slightly, it is ready. Fingertips leave bruises.
• The stem test: Flick off the small nub at the stem end. Green underneath means it is just right; brown means it is past; if the nub will not come away, it is not ready.
• Sound and feel: If you can feel movement inside when you shake it, the stone has come loose — the fruit is overripe.

To speed ripening, keep it at room temperature in a paper bag with a banana. To slow it down, refrigerate once ripe; it will hold another 3–4 days. Store a cut half with the stone still in it and rub lemon on the cut face — browning is noticeably delayed.