Everything about Avos
Everything you want to know about Avocados
Avocados are the rich, creamy fruit we can’t get enough of! And for good reason – they’re darn delicious and they’re good for us too being chock full of vitamin C, fibre, antioxidants and beneficial mono-unsaturated fats. Whether you do simple avo toast, add them to every salad, or love transforming them into something new, avocados are a welcome friend in any fruit bowl.
Let’s get to know avocado seasons and varieties, master the art of storage plus make the most of their nutty flavour in our favourite easy recipes. It’s a creamy avo-lanch of deliciousness!
How to store avocados for freshness and flavour
Avocados will ripen naturally once picked. Store your avocados at room temperature – on the kitchen bench where you can keep a keen eye on them is best! When ripe to eat, the stem area will be firm but yield to gentle pressure.
Ripening is also helped by high ethylene emitters such as apples, pears and bananas – storing avocados next to them or together in a breathable paper bag will help them ripen more quickly.
See our complete Fruit and Veg Storage Guide.
Keeping a half avocado? Cut avocado will turn brown from oxidisation but there’s a few tricks to help if you’re not eating it all at once: rinse with cold water, or squeeze lemon over the flesh. It’ll stay fresh and green in the fridge for a few more days. Or go rogue and cut it across rather than lengthways, minimising exposed surface area, then store sealed by the perfect sized mug. The ultimate anti-oxidisation hack.
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Australian avocados - common varieties and seasons
Native to Central and South America, avocados grow really well in Australia – mostly in our subtropical and warm temperate climates but also in cooler southern states too. Different varieties are at their peak at different times of the year, which means we can often enjoy delicious, nutritious avocados all year round. Lucky us!
Hass 🥑 – late winter to early summer. A medium size pear shaped fruit with a brilliant flavour and creamy soft flesh. Their pebbly skin helpfully becomes dark purple/black when ripe. Hass avocados have a long season and are by far the most common commercially grown avocado. If you feel like you see them everywhere you’re not wrong – 80% of all avos grown and sold in Australia are Hass.
Sharwill 🥑 – winter. Sharwill avocados are a glossy green pear shaped fruit with a smaller stone and wonderful flavour.
Reed 🥑 – late spring to early summer. Reed avocados are a large, rounded variety with thick green skin and a robust flavour. Too big to eat at once? Good news, cut Reed avos are less likely to loose flavour stored in the fridge.
Shepard 🥑 – late summer to autumn. Shepard avocado are a small to medium avocado with a rich buttery flavour. As an added bonus, when cut they’re less likely to go brown than other varieties.
Bacon 🥑 – autumn to early winter. Apart from being a great name, Bacon is the most cold tolerant variety. Bacon avocados are a tasty pear shaped avo and can grow well in our southern states – you may even have one yourself in your Melbourne backyard!
Fuerte 🥑 – late autumn to spring. Fuerte avocados are a smaller pear shaped fruit with smooth dark green skin, firm flesh, a great nutty flavour and a prized high oil content. Fuerte are often crowned the tastiest avo, and have a dedicated following of Fuerte fans.
Our favourite avocado recipes
Holy guacamole, it’s time to feast! More than just the most perfect thing to smoosh on your toast, avocados can be the key ingredient to make your next dish really sing. Here’s some favourites from our online collection that let their creamy, nutty, buttery selves take centre stage:
La Tortilleria’s guacamole. Just perfect with their crunchy corn totopos.
Grilled corn salad with avo and feta. Super hearty as a main course with your favourite protein – there’s nothing it wouldn’t go with. Best enjoyed outside on a balmy evening!
The best tofu tacos. Easy to make, seriously flavourful and the tofu mix can be frozen in portions and warmed up for future quick-sticks meals. Plus, they can be gluten free, low FODMAP and vegan!
Cucumber, avocado and broad bean salad. This one’s a bit of a cult classic; it’s so simple and satisfying.
Avocado and Broad Bean Mash.This gives a guac-like spread some sweet spring interest! You could whip this up as part of a mezze or, we had it on a La Tortilleria tortilla with these super quick black beans, a fried egg, shredded cabbage, coriander and lime. It was quick, fresh weeknight dinner!
