Avocados are a delicious food, recently gaining newfound popularity as a “superfood” after years of being largely ignored due to their high calorie count. This is why it is important to preserve avocados.
Why is it important to preserve avocados?
“Avocado oil consists of 71% monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), 13% polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), and 16% saturated fatty acids (SFA), which helps to promote healthy blood lipid profiles and enhance bioavailability of fat soluble vitamins and phytochemicals from the avocado or other fruits and vegetables, naturally low in fat, which are consumed with avocados,” one article states. “There are eight preliminary clinical studies showing that avocado consumption helps support cardiovascular health. Exploratory studies suggest that avocados may support weight management and healthy aging.”(1)
While there are plenty of health benefits to avocados, they don’t keep particularly well – they’re typically only good for a few days, depending on how ripe they are when you buy them. Fortunately, they’re relatively easy to preserve in the freezer, if you know how to prepare them first.
Avocados are usually in season in the spring and fall, so using this method you can buy them in bulk when they’re affordable and preserve them for extended periods of time, saving you money in the long run in addition to being convenient.
What You’ll Need
To preserve avocados in the freezer successfully, you’ll need:
- An electric mixer or hand-held manual potato masher to crush the avocados
- Enough lemon juice to add one tablespoon of lemon juice for each avocado
- Some ziplock freezer bags