You know how sometimes you open up a nice ripe avocado and there are a bunch of stringy strings in it? Isn’t that annoying? Today we are here to shed some light on this not-so-great phenomena: The stringy avocado!
Let’s open with the most important thing: You can and should still eat a stringy avocado (more on that later). The strings might be a bit of a nuisance, but they're harmless!
So what are they, exactly? These strings are actually vascular bundles, meaning they are responsible for bringing all those nutrients and water from the tree into the fruit (yes avocado is a fruit). Without them there would be no avocado at all!
But why do they appear only in some avocados? It's all about genetics. Some varieties tend to be stringier than others (Hass is usually not stringy for example, while Stewart is almost always is). It also has something to do with the maturity of the fruit and the age of the tree. Younger trees and avocados picked earlier in the season tend to be stringier.
Okay then, so is there a way to know in advance that an avocado is about to pull our strings by being stringy? Unfortunately, no. You’ll have to open it up to be 100% sure. As we said earlier, there’s no harm in the strings and they don’t affect the flavor of the avocado or its many health benefits. The monounsaturated fats, fiber, vitamin E, potassium and folate - are all still in there.
If you’re still too put off by the strings, there’s a way to get rid of them while keeping the nice, creamy avocado flesh: by using a strainer! You can get one of those little tea strainers and mash your avocado through it. The strings will be left behind. You’re welcome!
