Food and Recipes Fruits Avocado The One Trick To Know When Picking Out Avocados Take this tip straight to the supermarket. By Rebecca Angel Baer Rebecca Angel Baer Rebecca Angel Baer is the Senior Digital Editor, with a strong focus on News. So, if Southerners are talking about it, Rebecca is covering it. Rebecca has been with Southern Living since 2017 and enjoys the wide range of topics from shining a light on local heroes to providing ways to help our neighbors after disasters like tornadoes and hurricanes strike the South. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on May 14, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Doctors and nutritionist alike sing the praises of the green fruit with a spreadable flesh as smooth as butter. Avocados are delicious, healthy and super trendy. Avocado toast is on menus coast to coast. But that toast doesn't come cheap. Avocados are one of the pricier items in the produce aisle. You don't want to buy four only to get home from the grocery and realize two aren't ripe and will require the brown bag treatment for several days and that another is past its prime. Getty Images Have no fear. We are here with a trick to save you from wasting money when you have to throw the bad avocados out. The secret is in the stem. If you flick the stem and it comes off without any resistance or falls off in your hand, chances are, that avocado is too ripe and will be a mushy, brown mess inside. But when you get the stem to pop off, check the color underneath. Once the stem is removed, there will be a little dimple and that dimple should most resemble the color of the inside of the avocado. So if that dimple is brown, chances are you'll see a lot of brown spots when you slice it open. But if that little dimple is yellow-green in color, you probably have a winner! Be wary of the color being too yellow though, that will mean it's not ripe yet. Now check those stems and grab some tortilla chips at the store as well. You should be guacamole ready in no time! Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit