Introduction
Since the avocado is a fruit that is really rich in healthy fats so it’s often used to produce oil. Although this kind of oil is not common like olive oil, in case you are out of olive oil, you might want to substitute with avocado oil due to its delicious flavor and beneficial nutrients it contains.
Using avocado oil in your daily dishes will reduce cholesterol and improve your heart health so this is especially a good thing for the elderly who are usually facing heart diseases or stroke. Like whole avocados, avocado oil is exactly an effective assistant for your eyes and hair as it is loaded with many antioxidants and essential vitamins.
With the numerous benefits that avocado oil provides, it will be a waste to get rid of it just because of improper storage. Don’t worry, in this article, we will go through all the essential knowledge of the avocado oil like the shelf life, methods to store and how to realize it’s time to throw it away.
How long does avocado oil last?
Normally, an unopened bottle of avocado oil can last 9-12 months in the pantry and about a year in the fridge. The opened one can stay safe at room temperature for about 6-8 months and 9-12 months in the fridge.
For such a long shelf-life time, you can feel relieve to store oil even without any special method or equipment. But don’t underestimate the case, just give it a good sniff sometimes to check it can be used or not.
How to tell if avocado oil goes bad?
In most cases, to judge avocado oil goes bad or not, we need to use our noses to check the smell since it’s quite hard to realize just through its appearance.
When the oil develops an off odor or known as rancid oil or tastes weird, that means the oil has gone bad and it’s time to decide to throw the bottle of avocado oil away.
How to store avocado oil?
The best way to store avocado oil in particular and cooking oil in general is keeping them in an airtight bottle in a cool dark place as your pantry or the spice cabinet.
Normally, the ultra-high-quality avocado oil purchased in the supermarket will be contained in a nontransparent glass bottle since a clear glass bottle can easily expose the light and heat that make the oil get ruined soon.
You can also store your avocado oil in a fridge or freezer to extend the shelf life of the oil.
Can you freeze avocado oil?
Yes, although it’s not popular to store avocado oil in the freezer since actually, it’s an unnecessary task, but to lengthen the shelf life of avocado oil up to a year, you still can freeze it in a refrigerator or in a freezer if you still like to do. Here is how we do it:
How to freeze avocado oil?
Now you are going to learn how to freeze avocado oil in the fridge/ freezer properly in just some simple steps.
Tips to freeze avocado oil
- The temperature to keep it freeze should be maintained at around 35 to 37 F
- Remember that refrigerating avocado oil can make it become cloudy and solidify but it will still be safe to consume if there are no other signs of spoilage
Things you’ll need to freeze avocado oil
- A freezer-safe container
How to freeze avocado oil with just 2 steps
- Keep your oil in an airtight container or in its bottle if the lid is undamaged and tight
- Label the bottle and stick in the door of the fridge or in the freezer
How to defrost/ thaw avocado oil?
You might be panic when you take the bottle of avocado oil out of the fridge or freezer and see the change in its texture or color. Don’t worry, it’s a normal result when you freeze any oil at cold temperature.
To use the oil as usual, you just need to defrost it by simply bringing it back to room temperature. Just after a few minutes or hours, everything will return to the initial and you can pour the oil to the frying pan and cook per your own recipe or blend with your healthy salad.
Even faster, you don’t need to thaw frozen avocado oil, just take enough amount of oil under firm texture by using a spoon or fork, then place it directly to the hot pan and let the heat do its job to melt the oil then you can continue your cooking recipe. What a piece of cake, right?