Other varieties, including the zutano and fuerte, retain their green skin color regardless of how ripe they are. Use other methods – such as feeling for firmness – to determine if they’ve gone bad.
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Dark, streaky flesh. Once you cut an avocado, it’s easier to determine whether it has gone bad. Of course, this is only an option after you buy it.
An avocado that’s ready to eat has light green flesh. A little browning on the flesh is still OK. But a rotten one has brown or black spots throughout the flesh. That said, though, it may be that an isolated brown spot is simply due to bruising, rather than widespread spoilage. If that’s the case, it can be cut away.
Another possible sign of rotting is dark streaks in the flesh. Still, some avocados – particularly those harvested from young trees – may have dark streaks even though they’re not rotten. If the fruit looks good otherwise, doesn’t have an odd smell, and doesn’t taste off, it’s fine to eat (although I’m not crazy about tasting something to see if it’s still edible, are you?).
Similarly, the texture of an avocado may be stringy when it has spoiled. Still, if there are no other signs of rot, it’s not necessarily bad. A fibrous texture can also be attributed to growing conditions.
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Off flavor or odor. Ripe avocados have a pleasant, slightly sweet aroma and somewhat nutty flavor. As the fruit spoils, it may develop an abnormal taste and odor.
If it has a sour taste or smell, it may have bacterial spoilage and should be discarded. A chemical odor and taste may mean it’s rancid. This can happen when oxygen or microbes damage or break down the fruit’s unsaturated fat. Rancidity can result in the formation of potentially toxic compounds. Don’t eat an avocado if you think it’s rancid.
The flavor of spoiled avocados can vary, but it’s usually easy to tell upon taste whether they’re past their prime. Through smell, touch, visual inspection, and taste you can determine whether an avocado has spoiled. (OK, but taste would be my very last resort.)
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