My most awesome friend Kelly told me that President’s Choice now sells frozen chunks of avocado! I could not believe it. I thought it was an ingenious idea on many levels.
The Product
I am probably the crappiest avocado shopper on the planet so for me, the idea of picking up frozen chunks of avocado that are perfect for guacamole making was something I had to explore. It sounded too good to be true.
The Smoothie Test
Since most people I spoke with said they would use the product for smoothies, I had to try it that way. I have smoothies every night so it was no problem.
Kelly warned me that they are super hard and make a ton of noise in the blender so I let them sit out on the counter while I cooked dinner. By the time I was done cooking they blended up great with my berry smoothie. I do not find avocado adds much in the way of flavour to the experience of drinking a smoothie but it does provide healthy fats and makes it even thicker.
It did add a green tinge to my pineapple mango smoothie but no big deal. Reg did not even notice the addition of the avocado and he hates it so bravo PC!
The Guac Test
I was most skeptical about using the frozen avocado for guacamole. The instructions on the package say, “Keep frozen. Thaw in the refrigerator. After thawing, use as soon as possible. Do not refreeze.”
They did not say how long it would take to thaw in the fridge so I put mine in a bowl the night before and let it thaw for lunch the next day. As you can see, there was definitely some discolouration.
I added my lime juice, pressed garlic, salt and pepper and tried to mash with a fork. Ouch! Not exactly easy to do and some chunks absolutely would not mash. They were really, really hard even when thawed.
As a result, I ended up with a VERY chunky guacamole.
The discolouring was not too apparent and the flavour was not affected. This was a good guac but not easy to make. Next time I will use my food processor! I will also not let it thaw as long in my refrigerator.
The Aioli Test
Ironically, PC used to make my favourite aioli which was made with avocado and is no longer available. So I made my own with the leftover guacamole I had.
Unbelievably delicious! Damn, I am making that again. The perfect most tasty way to enjoy avocado if you ask me.
The Review
If you are going to buy President’s Choice Chunks of Avocado for smoothies, you will not be disappointed. This is an absolutely genius idea and I hope they keep offering it on a regular basis. So much easier than buying your own avocado and freezing it yourself. Just give it some time to thaw before blending.
If you are like me and prefer to have yours in guacamole and are super picky about potential discolouration, this may disappoint. It is avocado. Expecting it to remain a pristine colour after thawing out is not realistic but I can tell you, as someone who has wasted a ton of money on crappy avocados… I am thrilled with this product!
All I really care about is flavour and not wasting money, food or effort. As a result, I give this product four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
Thank you so much for taste-testing these avocado chunks in a variety of scenarios. We add half a frozen avocado every day to our green smoothies (for 2 pint glasses worth) and it really thickens it up. It’s good to know there’s a backup. I will give them a shot.
You are most welcome Kelly! Thank you for the inspiration and considering how many avocados you normally go through, I hope this helps when you run out.
Great to know !!!! I saw this product at the store but was skeptical
Susan, it’s not perfect but darn good considering. I hope I never lose money on avocados again thanks to this product.
Ya!!! Thanks. I’ve been waiting to try this. I’ll definitely get it now. Especially perfect for last minute avocado needs!
Awesome Sharon! Happy to help and yes, now you can have them in the freezer when those avocado emergencies pop up. And you know they do!
These sound like they could be really handy to have in the freezer. Do you have an avocado aioli recipe or tips? It sounds delicious.
Heidi, yes, super handy! I go very basic with my guacamole: lime juice, a little crushed fresh garlic, salt and pepper. To make the aioli I just add it to my mayo. Super simple! Of course you could always make your own mayo and then add the guacamole to it from there. Very powerful. For a more subtle one just make the aioli in a food processor and add some of the avocado. Hope that helps!
Suzie – I can’t wait to try the aioli — sounds so good and I think it would go perfectly on my favourite marble rye bread. I’ve added the avocado chunks to my weekend grocery run.
Kelly, you will LOVE the aioli! It’s so good. 🙂 Yay! Hope you enjoy the avocado chunks, LOL, although that feels weird to type.
I’m making a bean salad that has avocado chunks in it, for a Xmas potluck. If I can’t find ripe avocados in the store, I’ll be using these! Thanks for the review, Suzie!
Oh good! Glad I could help Joanie and hope the salad turns out awesome. 🙂
Thanks for the review, I picked up a couple of bags on sale for 3.99.
I’ll use them in smoothies. I wonder if tossing them in lemon or lime juice before thawing would help with discolouration? The aioli is a great idea 🙂
Kelly (another one!)
Good deal getting them for $3.99 Kelly! Perfect for smoothies and as I said, give them some time to thaw out a little and yes, lemon or lime juice added to them previous to thawing out will probably help. The aioli is so good! Enjoy. 🙂
Hi Kelly we were wondering how many avocados would you say is in each bag.
.knowing that they are chunks. Maybe 2??
I would say there is 2 avocados per bag, not less, maybe a little more. Hope that helps!
I too am a crappy avocado shopper!! I saw these at the store and was wondering about them. Thanks for posting your review 🙂
Glad to hear I am not the only one who struggles to but good avocados Miss Cassandra! I hope these help with your avocado journey. 🙂
how long do they keep in the fridge?
Anthony, store them in the freezer but put them in the fridge when you are getting ready to use them but only for less than 24 hours. They will start to discolour.
any idea how good will do they work with sushi?
I think it would discolour with sushi Bluebell. I think fresh would be better in that case.
I can’t find these in the store lately, and today they told me it is discontinued. Disappointing as I loved these and would have stocked up had I known!
Oh no! I hope it wasn’t a seasonal item, that would bite.
I’ve tried the PC in guac and dressing and ended-up with a bitter, not very rich taste. It reminds me of the low-fat larger avocados. I threw it out, but desperately want to use this convenient product. If anyone has had a similar learning curve sound off.
Oh Scott, that’s awful! Perhaps their quality control is down. No, it will never be as rich a flavour as fresh because the water comes out as it defrosts. I think it’s best for people who want to add them to their smoothies. I would buy fresh for things like guacamole, I was just testing it out that it was possible. I’m sorry your bag had a bitter taste to it, that’s terrible. You should comment on their site and let them know!