Good morning!
We're back after the holidays!
I hope you enjoyed time with your family; I can assure you that I did.
And this short break we took gave us a chance to rest. But... it didn't last long! We returned on Tuesday, and I can already tell you that this week is very busy.
It's peak orange season, and we continue harvesting🌱.
For my orange trees, it has been a great challenge to withstand extreme heat, excessive humidity, pests, and the daily challenges we faced (and still face) with fieldwork.
🍊Our oranges have reached the end of their journey with us, but only to begin a new journey to different parts of Spain. Look at them here, almost ready to go:
But today, I don't just want to talk about oranges, but about something small yet important in the care of our fruits: the stem of avocados, which many call the "little tail."
To start, it's one of the ways to tell if the avocado is ready to eat or not. If it comes off easily and the fruit underneath is yellow, the avocado is ripe.
But if, on the other hand, it's very firm or green, it still needs time. So, if it doesn't come off easily, it's best to leave it where it is.
Avocado is a climacteric fruit, which means it ripens after it has been separated from the tree.
That's why you know that when you receive your order, we send you very specific instructions for ripening avocados (or other climacteric fruits like mango).
What never fails for me is to place the avocados in a pot with apples and cover them tightly for four or five days. Apples 🍎 release a natural gas called ethylene, which speeds up the ripening process.
Well, having said that. Let's go back to the little tail. Here you can see it while it's still on the tree:
Javi, an avocado grower, recently visited my fields and told me that when people buy avocados at the supermarket and see that they don't have the stem, they think it's because it's starting to ripen, but this is not always the case.
And although they might ripen faster without the little tail, it's always better to leave it because it may be small, but it's important because it protects the fruit. But I'll talk more about this later.
As I say goodbye, shall I tell you my favorite way to check if an avocado is ripe?
It's called the "cotton test," and it involves gently (very gently) pressing with your fingertips, and if the flesh gives a little, it's ready to eat. Simple and effective! 😉
Until next week.
A big hug!
