How to CookAvocado
I Tried Freezing Avocados: A Horror Story
by Sarah Jampel
• January 10, 2017
• 43 Comments
"But... why?" That's the question most of my colleagues at Food52 asked when they saw me mummifying avocado halves with plastic wrap to prepare them for life eternal in the freezer.
"Because I can!" I shot back. But, as it turns out, I couldn't.
The notion that you might freeze a perfect avocado—preserving its ripeness in a state of suspended animation until the day you're ready to bring it back to life and smash it onto toast—is a fantastical daydream. To put it less dramatically, "the concept of them waiting in the freezer for me completely ripe is appealing," wrote caninechef on the Hotline.
Many of you responded with enthusiasm and encouragement: You said you do it all the time, and with great success! A small miracle. And The Huffington Post corroborates. Their 2012 article on the tip was called "Freezing Avocados: You Should Definitely Do This." I'm afraid that after my (very brief) testing, I have a rebuttal: "Freezing Avocados: I Couldn't Recommend, in Good Conscience, That Anyone Do This."
Here's how I did it: I wrapped some halves tightly with plastic wrap and tucked them into a sealed plastic bag; I mashed a few others and scooped the chunky pulp into another bag. I froze everything completely and then thawed it slowly.
This is what happened:
I admit that I neglected to counter the avocado-browning with lemon juice (though, in past avocado experiments, I haven't found this to be much more effective than doing nothing, anyway). But it was the texture, not the unappetizing superficial hue, that was the real issue, anyway. The avocados were simultaneously mushy, slimy, and spongy. I would not eat them scooped or mashed—maybe blended would be fine but they certainly didn't taste fresh.
I'm not alone in my failure. Yes, you'll find reports of triumphant freezing (though very few pictures of the fruit post-thaw... A coincidence? I think not). But Serious Eats called Trader Joe's frozen avocado halves a fail, citing a writer who deemed the guacamole he made with them "a pasty, gritty, flavorless and textureless blob of shame."
So sure, you can "save" an avocado in the freezer for later... but I'd argue that you're condemning it to certain doom.
If you've had success freezing avocados, tell me: Where did I go wrong? Had I given the avocado sufficient lemon juice, might the results have been different? How could this have solved the texture dilemma?
Got avocado-freezing advice? Tell us in the comments below.
Comments (43)
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Did anyone experience bowel problems after eating a thawed avocado in a smoothie?
You went wrong with a couple different things; not using lemon juice, not taking out the seed and not peeling the avocado. I'm not sure why but in my experience the avocado peel and seed just make for a disaster is the freezer. Peel and seed the avocado and then brush with a little lemon juice, make sure there is ZERO air in the bag when freezing (I crumple up some plastic wrap and put it in the divets where the seed was and it works great) and you'll do great! I use frozen avocados in guacamole and other recipes, I do not like avocado plain so I have never tried a frozen avocado plain before, so I can not tell you how it tastes but in the recipes I taste little to no difference. Hope this helps!
I have had success mashing the avocados, putting them in a plastic tupperware type container and squeezing some lemon or lime on top, then a layer of plastic wrap touching the pulp, before the top of the container. When defrosted they do make great guacamole..
I never believed the "freeze avocados" hype. However, what I have discovered is that once they are ripe--not over-ripe, but perfectly ripe--you can put them in the refrigerator, whole and uncut, and they will keep in very good condition for days and days and days. Eventually they go the way of all uneaten avocados but I have been extremely surprised and pleased with how long they keep in the fridge.
I have frozen avocados and they are great. Retain color, flavor, etc.
I just bought some from the frozen department in my local supermarket. (I'm from the UK) So much cheaper than buying individually. I'm going to use them in smoothies. They look divine even in their frozen state, bright gorgeous avocado green. Made and packaged by Tesco.
Forgot to say that they are sliced and no other ingredients are used. Don't know how they do it other than industrial super duper freezing machinery and maybe a designer cultivated avocado that is freezable.
Trader Joe's used to sell frozen avocado slices and they were pretty good.
I was going to comment until I read the comment I made on here 1 year ago. I still use the same method and it still works perfectly. And now I will go get that bag and make some more toast with avocado on it.
Obviously, you need to flash freeze them, then vacuum seal and defrost in the sous vide water bath...
we have 2 avocado trees in our garden (in Brazil) and I had my kids process buckets full of them with sugar and lemon juice, we put that smoothie like mash in portions in freezer bags. Unfortunately after thawing consistency was slimy and the stuff tasted horrible. I had hoped to freeze the in chuncks but after reading the comments think I will put some in the fridge.
i blend mine with lemon or limejuice and freeze in small cups as icecream replacement in summer.nice!
I found by accident to do this, and it works! : After trying and trying to buy organic just right avocados, I now buy he very hardest regular avocados and put them in the fridge right away. Cold, they do not turn brown, are ripe enough to be perfect when eaten. i can cut half and save the other half with only a skim the top clean up. Lemon would no doubt avoid that. It works perfectly, they're ready and clean clear through. Delicious.
Suzanne
Frozen avocado textured sounded revolting :))) Thanks for averting us from tryingbut!
I always freeze my avocados . They are never brown when then defrost. You have to take them out of the shell and flash freeze first for about 2 hours and then put them in a freezer bag. Thats it. You take out individuals halves and use what you need. Its terrific. .
I freeze them and blend in smoothies. It adds a creamy texture that's really nice, but I wouldn't ever try to unthaw and use in that format. Ew.
NO. NO. NO NO NO NO NO.
I froze avocados once, when I stoked up when they were on sale and actually couldn't consume in time :/ To freeze: (1) remove peel and pit (2) slather each half in lime juice (3) thoroughly wrap in plastic wrap and then in freezer zip-lock (4) remove all air and freeze (5) enjoy as avocado spread on toast or even guacamole. The texture changes completely and the taste is a tad different, which is why it is best used as a spread.
After purchasing frozen avocado chunks from the grocery store. I was thinking of trying it myself. There is some interesting advice in the comments that I will try as I find this product - although quite good, to be a little on the expensive side. http://www.presidentschoice...
NO!
I freeze avocados and they work just fine. I peel, discard peels and pit, slice, and then freeze in plastic bags. I freeze some in chunks so I can eat them frozen, but still creamy. I thaw in the plastic bag placed in a bowl full of cold water then make guacamole.
Freeze, no. Refrigerate, yes. I've found that if I let avocados ripen just to the point of good eating then place them in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator, they will maintain that point of ripeness for several days -- even a couple of weeks.. Once they are sliced or peeled, that's it.
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