Imagine a future in which you could hold an avocado next to a machine that will tell you whether it’s ripe or not.

Well, the future is now thanks to a European manufacturer — but it’s an absurdist future as far as many Mexicans are concerned.

Based on their reactions on social media, people from the Yucatán Peninsula to Tijuana are firmly of the belief that if you need technology to determine if that wonderful fruit you are holding is para hoy (for today), para mañana (for tomorrow) or muy verde (way too unripe), you aren’t fit to be a Mexican.

“Choosing avocados is a Latin American gift,” wrote one TikTok user who believes that just by touching an avocado, one should intrinsically know if it’s ready to eat or not.

“That’s not enough,” added another. “In Mexico, we have machines that ripen them in one day. It’s called a newspaper!”

(Indeed, wrapping an unripe avocado with newspaper, or placing it in a brown paper bag, traps ethylene gas that accelerates its ripening; you can even speed things up by adding in other ethylene-producing fruits like bananas or apples.)

@emilio.pego Es una buena idea?