Check the color and appearance: Choose avocados without dark blemishes or deep indentations on the skin. California Hass avocados ripen into a dark green or black shade; if they are green at all, they probably aren’t ripe. Florida avocados on the other hand, have lighter-green skin with a yellowish tone, even when they are ripe. [2] X Research source Feel the avocados for ripeness: Gently squeeze the avocado to test its firmness. Don’t squeeze very hard with your fingertips, or you’ll risk bruising the fruit. A ripe avocado is soft, but it gives in to the pressure of your thumb and other fingers. Under-ripe avocados will be firm and hard; overripe avocados will be mushy to the touch, and often unevenly so. [3] X Research source Check the spot where the stem meets the fruit: Use your fingernail to pick away the circular remainder of the stem. This should reveal a small hole in the skin through which you can note the color of the avocado. If the “meat” is green, it’s either ripe or ripening. If the inside of the avocado looks brown, black, or any other color, it’s either overripe or moldy. [4] X Research source
If you want to slow the ripening process, store your avocados in a refrigerator. Only ripe or soft avocados should be refrigerated. Ripe fruit can be refrigerated until it is eaten, and should last for at least two more days.
If you don’t have access to lemons, you can use any concentrated citrus juice: lime, orange, grapefruit, etc. Generally, the more sour the fruit, the more citric acid it contains. You could even use pre-bottled lemon or lime juice. Avoid using citrus juice that has been sweetened, pasteurized, or infused with chemical additives. Only use citrus concentrate.
If you don’t want to use butter, you can simply mash up the avocado with all of the other ingredients. Your butter-less “avocado butter” will not have quite the same texture as its buttery counterpart, but you’ll be able to use it in all of the same situations.
Feel free to use fewer seasonings for a simpler avocado butter, or more complex seasonings for a spicier butter. Try various seasoning combinations to figure out what you prefer.
Dry the avocados with a clean towel afterwards to remove any persistent debris.
Exercise great caution when using a knife. If you don’t want to use a knife, you can remove the put with a spoon. If you use a spoon, try to wedge your tool beneath the seed and separate it from the surrounding meat so that you can scoop out the pit. [7] X Research source
If you slice the avocados open and scoop out the meat using a spoon, you don’t need to peel the avocado. However, many people favor peeling off the skin of the avocado because it ensures you retain the dark green, high-nutrient layer of avocado meat closest to the outer skin. Consider cutting away the tough area where the stem meets the avocado. If you don’t remove it now, you might find it amid your avocado butter later![8] X Research source
If you are hand-mashing the avocado, use a fork or a mortar and pestle. Chop the avocado into chunks first to make it easier to mash. You want the mixture to be smooth like guacamole. If you are using a blender or food processor, put the avocado chunks into the machine, add all of the ingredients, and close the lid. Process until there are no large remaining chunks. This method is best if you’re making a large quantity of avocado butter – it will be much easier than hand-mashing.
Spread avocado butter on toast. You can spread it thickly onto bread, English muffins, tortillas – anything onto which you’d spread regular butter. Use avocado butter in a sandwich. You can use a lot of avocado butter as the key ingredient, or you can spread it thinly onto the bread as a condiment. Be aware that the more butter you used to make your avocado butter, the less you may want to eat in one sitting. Mix avocado butter into a salad. This treat can make a great salad dressing. Serve it on the side, or toss it directly into the mix. Eat avocado butter with any number of snacks. Dip chips or crackers; spread onto deviled eggs; dip your french fries into it; or eat it straight.
Fresh avocado butter should keep for three days in the refrigerator or a week in the freezer. [10] X Research source
