Two-Day Warning Re Good Sprouts Sales

Just a heads up that you only have through tomorrow to grab some particularly good deals at Sprouts, most notably to me, the 25% off all bulk, including very good Fair Trade organic coffee at the Baseline store (and if you need pine nuts in the near future, get them now in bulk at one quarter off their $19.99 a pound price!), and Hass avocados at three for $1.  I've followed the advice of my esteemed friend, Ms. A., and now have several in the fridge to enable me to stock up by controlling their ripening process (you can pop avocado ripening in the search box in the top left corner of your screen for prior posts about that).

Stock Up on Avocados

Avocados are looking pretty good this week, 3 for $1 at Sunflower and 49 cents each at Sprouts. I used to think of them as being quickly perishable as they sat on the counter, until my friend Ms. A. introduced me to the idea of buying in quantity when the price is good, then controlling their ripening in the refrigerator. You can see the details in this prior post.

Enjoy Those Avocados

With avocados just 49 cents apiece at Sprouts this week through Wednesday, you might consider stocking up and controlling their ripening by storing them in the refrigerator, a technique perfected by my friend Ms. A., as detailed here.

Controlling the Ripening of Avocados

When buying avocados, I've always just put them on the counter, where they would ripen quickly and need to be used within a few days. Recently I experimented with a method used by my avocado aficionado friend, Ms. A., who controls the ripening of her avocados by storing them in the fridge to slow their ripening until they are close to being used. Does this ever work! I may have pushed it a bit by keeping them for as long as three weeks (the last one did get pretty mushy), but it's true that initial storage in the fridge allows you to buy in quantity when the price is really good, then spread their ripening out over time. An excellent technique, Ms. A.!

I was surprised to learn that another friend, Ms. S., who sets foot in her kitchen as little as possible, was also aware of the effect of refrigeration in slowing the ripening of avocados. However, Ms. S. listens to copious amounts of Jimmy Buffett, and it could be that parrot heads are generally well versed in the lore of guacamole.

As for the flip side of speeding the ripening process, I've heard elsewhere that putting the avocado in a bag with a banana will do it, but haven't tried that technique yet.

The Avocado Experiment Is Going Very Well

I'll report out more fully as I gain more experience in controlling the ripening of avocados bought in quantity, but I'm so enthused by the early results, I have to do a quick update. My avocado aficionado friend, Ms. A., keeps hers in the fridge until it nears time for their ripening and use. Of the eight I bought a week ago at just 25 cents each at Sprouts, three went on the counter immediately to ripen, one came out of the fridge yesterday to get started, and the remaining four in the fridge are happily still green rocks. Your method is looking mighty good, Ms. A.!