Avocado toast has—unfairly!—become a symbol of poor financial decision-making on the part of younger generations. But even the most ardent toast-heads might question the value of the avocados featured in a recent viral video.
TikTok creator Brent Stewart (@brentnstewart), who regularly shares food content with his 46,000 followers, recently posted a video about the least-ripe avocados you’ve ever seen.
The video has almost a million views and 41,000 likes.
@brentnstewart Imagine serving this to someone at a restaurant #foodtok ♬ original sound – Brentstewarteats
“When you buy avocado, on your avocado toast, and it looks like this,” Stewart says in the video, brandishing a bright green slice of the fruit. (Yes, fruit!)
Stewart then jabs the slice against the table, and it remains completely intact. He pokes it, and it doesn’t mush up at all. When he bonks it with his fist, the avocado slice simply bounces.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Stewart says, laughing as the camera pans to an empty take-out container with several more unripe avocado slices inside.
In case you’ve never ordered avocado toast: Usually, it comes with the fruit spread over the bread, or at least with ripened slices. Stewart captioned the video, “Imagine serving this to someone at a restaurant.” (The creator did not name the restaurant in his TikTok.)
Viewers in the comments section couldn’t believe their eyes.
One person commented, “them avocados were just born, they ain’t ready yet.”
“You know that employee was fighting for their LIFE peeling & slicing that,” another wrote.
“I would actually return it and get a refund. Nothing ruins my day like biting into an unripe avocado,” someone added.
“Fisher-Price avocados,” one viewer chimed in.
Another person commented, “Man at that point just say you’re out of avocados.”
One comment read, “That would ruin my day and i’d actually start to cry.” (Relatable.)
Industry organization Avocados From Mexico has some ripeness tips to avoid serving a rubbery ‘cado:
“Observe the color of the avocado’s skin. Is it green? Dark green to nearly black? Dark green with black speckles? Ripe avocados will have a skin color that is dark green to nearly black.
“Feel the avocado. Is the skin smooth? Or is it bumpy? In addition to their dark green skin, ripe avocados will also have skin with a bumpy texture.
“Gently squeeze the avocado. Is the avocado firm? Does it yield to firm, gentle pressure? Does it feel mushy? Ripe avocados should yield to gentle pressure without leaving indentations or feeling mushy.”
Update Aug. 23, 3:42pm CT: In an email to the Daily Dot, Stewart said the avocado toast came from a market in Rockland, Maine. “I have gone here quite a few times and normally get pretty good food!” He was disappointed in this dish, he said, adding, “We had left the restaurant otherwise we would’ve told/asked them why they served us that!”
Stewart told the Daily Dot that he loves posting food content “with the idea of showing people that it’s ok to splurge sometimes and eat the food that you love!”
