When cooking, many people are often taken aback by a dilemma that may seem easy to most, but could be difficult to others, especially those pressed for time and just want to get on with the chore.One such problem is the question of how ripe is ripe for a fruit, and how can one hasten the ripening process to better plan their menu.
A fruit that often leaves people puzzled is the avocado, especially the small, roundish ones that are most prevalent in supermarkets or wet markets, and are imported from Australia or New Zealand.
For Filipinos, knowing when this type of fruit will ripen could be a big question mark, as they are often sold rock-hard and with no semblance to the Philippine variety we are more acquainted with. In the Philippines, if you buy the local variety unripe, chances are you could already use it for salads or dessert after just one or two days.
Not so with the kind usually sold in Hong Kong, which could remain hard to the touch for days. Sometimes, they get forgotten because of this, and end up being too mushy to use. Considering their cost, this could be quite disheartening.
Faced with the dilemma of ensuring her avocados are ripe enough for the day when she’d need them, Katrina Montoya-Paragas asked her fellow members in the Domestic Workers Corner this question: “Hello po, ask ko sana kung anu yung dapat gawin para madaling mahinog ang avocado?? Kasi 5days na itong nabili matigas parin?”
From about a dozen replies, the most common was one familiary to most Pinoys: Put them in your rice container.
One added this extra bit: Make sure they are well-covered by the rice.
Another suggested wrapping them in newspaper, another said they should be put inside a tightly sealed plastic bag.
Other suggestions were more unusual: One said, put them inside a brown bag with an apple and check after one day. Another suggested putting them together with big brown onions and leave them uncovered in the kitchen or living room, adding her employer taught her this. “Effective naman po,” she said.
But the hands-on winner in terms of immediacy was this suggestion: Put them in the microwave; when cooked, they should be ready to eat.
Katrina went with the most popular suggestion of burying her precious fruits in the rice box. So the jury is still out on which method is most effective.
Turning now to the biggest challenge often faced by members of DWC, which is preparing their employer’s daily meals. Being on a tight budget often adds to the problem.
Linalene J. Galvez met the challenge head on recently when she prepared two simple but from the looks of it, flavorful dishes of chicken and minced meat for her employers.
She shared the recipes and photos as below:
LINARINE J GALVEZ
