Caring for Your Avocados and Lemons

A box of fruit is easier to enjoy when you know what belongs on the counter and what belongs in the refrigerator. Avocados soften after picking; lemons arrive ready to use. Here is how to work through your box at your own pace.

Let firm avocados ripen on the counter

Unpack your avocados and leave firm fruit at room temperature. Ripening time varies with the fruit and conditions in your kitchen, so check daily instead of relying on a fixed number of days.

To help a few along, place them in a loosely closed paper bag with an apple. Leave the rest on the counter so you can check them separately. Avoid a sealed plastic bag: the fruit needs to breathe. UC Agriculture and Natural Resources explains how avocado ripening works.

Refrigerate avocados when they are ready

Cradle an avocado in your palm and apply light pressure. A little give means it is ready; avoid pressing hard with your fingertips. Skin color alone is not a reliable test. Move ripe fruit to the refrigerator if you are saving it for another meal, and use the ripest fruit first. See the California Avocado Commission’s storage guide for more detail.

Keep lemons in the refrigerator

Lemons do not become sweeter or riper after picking. Refrigeration helps them keep longer, so put the lemons you are saving in the refrigerator rather than waiting for them to soften. If you have more juice than you will use soon, freeze it in small portions for another day. This advice follows UC’s citrus storage guidance.

Meyer or Eureka: choose the flavor you want

Meyer lemons have a gentler tartness and a fragrant, floral character. Eureka lemons bring the familiar bright, sharp lemon flavor. Try Meyer in a simple dressing or squeezed over roasted vegetables; reach for Eureka when you want a more tart finish. These are serving ideas to adjust to your taste. UC describes the differences between the varieties.

Make a few easy meals from your box

Start with sliced avocado on toast and a squeeze of lemon. Use another ripe avocado in a salad, then save some lemon juice for vegetables, fish or a dressing. You do not need to prepare the whole box at once.

Before slicing, peeling or zesting, rinse fruit under running water and dry it with a clean towel, even when you will not eat the skin. Use clean hands, knives and cutting boards. Read the FDA’s fresh-produce handling guidance.

Explore our Hass avocados, Meyer lemons, Eureka lemons and avocado and Eureka lemon box. Our fruit is seasonal; each product page shows its current availability.