Do you have a hard avocado and don’t want to wait long for it to ripen? Luckily, there is a clever solution that can speed up the avocado ripening process so you can enjoy its creamy consistency much faster. Learn how easy it is to get your avocado ready to eat.

Avocados are an extremely healthy fruit and are often used to make guacamole and as an addition to salads or sandwiches. However, for this to work, the avocado must be soft and ripe enough. Unfortunately, it is often hard as a rock after returning from the store. Is there anything you can do to avoid waiting a few more days for the fruit to reach the perfect consistency? Turns out, yes, and in a trivial way.

How do you speed up the ripening of avocados? A paper bag will come in handy.

A ripe avocado should be slightly soft but still springy when lightly pressed with a finger. In addition, its tail should have turned yellow to make it clear that the avocado is ready to eat. Unfortunately, an unripe avocado is just as disappointing as a spoiled one. Therefore, it is helpful to know how to speed up the ripening of avocados to avoid disappointment and be able to consume them quickly.

One of the most recommended ways to ripen avocados quickly is to put them in a paper bag along with an apple or banana. Once the bag is closed, it creates a cozy environment inside that will help the avocado ripen faster.

This is because apples and bananas release ethylene, a gas that speeds up the ripening of the fruit. A sealed bag locks it inside, causing it to accumulate in one place and thus speeding up the ripening of the avocado. Also, if you place the bag in a warm, sunny place, the avocado will be ready to eat in as little as a day or two.

Need a ripe avocado right now? Use the oven.

However, sometimes you need the avocado you bought immediately, so there is no time to wait even a day. In such a situation, it is worth using the oven. Although the effect will not be exactly the same as in the case of the natural ripening process, in critical cases this method will be your ally.

This is a quick trick that will make avocados softer in less than an hour. To do this, preheat the oven to 90 degrees Celsius and wrap the avocados in aluminum foil. Place the fruit on a baking tray and bake for a few more minutes, being careful not to overbake.

After you take the fruit out of the oven, let it cool before cutting it. The “baking” time will vary depending on the firmness of the avocado. With this trick, the heat of the oven stimulates ethylene production and speeds up ripening.