The Best Method to Keep Avocados Fresh for a Month or More [Updated]

Update, June 1, 2022: The FDA recommends not storing avocados in water due to the risk of bacterial growth, including Listeria, which could lead to illness. It's fine to refrigerate avocados without water. The original article continues below.

Buying avocados can feel like a gamble: They ripen unexpectedly, and that brief period of perfect ripeness often passes before you can enjoy them. Freezing is an option, but it changes the texture, which may not work for all uses.

How to Slow Down the Ripening of Avocados

In a separate Southern Living article, they took the experiment further by comparing the effects of storing avocados on the counter or in the fridge, without submerging them in water. They found that keeping avocados submerged in water in the fridge significantly extended the time before they ripened. Avocados left on the counter spoiled the quickest, the dry refrigerated ones lasted a bit longer, but those submerged in water stayed fresh the longest.

How to Speed Up Avocado Ripening

The challenge with buying several avocados is not knowing how quickly they’ll ripen. Placing them in water in the fridge can slow down the process, but sometimes you’ll need to speed things up, especially if you want to eat them over a few weeks.

If you have a batch of avocados in the fridge and need to use one within a few days, you can hasten its ripening by removing it from the fridge and putting it in a paper bag with another fruit. The fruit will release ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process significantly.