Are California avocados irradiated?

[Eric Eto]

I'm kind of an avocado freak. When I was a kid, there was an avocado tree in the back yard, or at my uncle's place, so we always seemed to have avocados around. So these last couple years in NYC have been pretty good with hass avocados coming mostly from Mexico, but also from California and the Dominican Republic, making them somewhat affordable, and available year-round. (Maybe we have NAFTA to thank for that?) I usually pay as little as $.75 for one. Anyway, about 10 days ago, I passed by this little Chinese-run vegetable cart under the subway tracks nearby that usually carries vegetables for cheap, probably remainders or whatever they get from the bigger market for a steal. I usually find baskets of berries or mangos and such that are at full ripeness (or just past peak) that wouldn't last another day, and there's usually a big box of perished stuff behind the cart. Anyway, they had avocados at 2 for $1 and I bought a couple. I'm usually good at picking avocados, and I get them as hard as possible, and allow them to ripen on my tabletop for a few days. Anyway, that was about 10 days ago, and I even bought another couple at the nearby Korean market which were equally firm, but they ripened in a couple days and eaten. But these avocados from that stand are still hard. The only difference was that these are Calavo brand from California (I assume it's California, it says "product of USA"). The others that were eaten right away were Calavo brand from Mexico. So I took this photo tonight, over a week after I bought it, and it's barely softened (only the narrow end feels ripe), and it's still green. Did I just get a couple of freak avocados or did something happen in their handling, or by chance, are they irradiated? This is kind of a conundrum.

Image: http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y50/...

[DanaB]

It's been a big season for avocados this year. Bumper crops in California (ergo the cheap prices). Those that you have just probably were picked really hard. It can take up to two weeks to ripen a really hard avocado.

[malibumike]

I agree, it can take up to 2 weeks to ripen on the shelf. I have avocado trees and almost nothing bothers the fruit except squirrls. So I dont think they would be irradiated.

[Carb Lover]

I think the avocado is fine, just needs extra long to ripen since it was picked early. BTW, don't assume this avocado won't taste as good since it's taking so long to ripen. We got some from Ojai, CA once that were super hard and took 2-3 wks. to soften properly, and they were the most perfectly creamy and nutty avocados I've ever eaten. Tasted like pure sunshine. Enclosing them in a paper bag, or burying in flour as someone reported on Home Cooking, may speed up the ripening.

[MikeG]

Unless the regs have changed recently, irradiated food, except spices, has to be labelled as such.

(Now that I think of it though, I don't know if that means individual pieces of produce have to be labelled or just the box, even if the produce does have those now ubiquitious and annoying sticky-tags.)

[Gayla]

Calavo is the avocado growers co-operative, much the same way that Sunkist is a growers co-operative for citrus.

And I'll concur with the other posters, your avocados will probably ripen just fine, they were just picked really green. If you want to hasten the process put them in a brown paper bag, seal it, and let it sit for a day or so. It will go even faster if you put an apple in there with the avocados. The apple gives off gas that the avocado uses to ripen.

[malibumike]

This is true, it works especially good with tomatoes. A banana peel also works.

[Jersey City Mods]

That's weird. I had the same thing happen and thought I got a defective avocado. However it did eventually ripen and it was very good.

[coll]

It's happened to me several times lately, and if you wait til they're soft, they're great! Takes at least 2 weeks though. The upside is, I've been getting 4 for $2.79, which is outrageously cheap around here.

[2chez mike]

A friend of mine(here in SoCal)regularly gives me bags of hard, unripe avocados from the tree in his backyard. I put them in a paper bag and place them in a dark cupboard. They take two, sometimes three weeks to ripen but when they do they are the richest, creamiest, smoothest avocados I have ever eaten.

I'm pretty sure he's not subjecting them to any irradiating process. :-D

[wally]

Nonsense, I am sure that they saw the sun at least a little bit.

[Davina]

My brother has a grove out near Somis, CA and grows both Haas and Bacon Avocados for Calavo. Not irradiated, ripen slower this time of year typically. I'm spoiled and so are all the pooches on the ranch, they all have beautiful coats :-)