Avocados have the rare quality of being both delicious and good for you. Suitable for pretty much every meal, the fruit also known as the ‘alligator pear’ can even feature in cakes and desserts.

That being said, there are few culinary experiences worse than trying to eat an unripe avocado.

For one thing, it won’t come out of its peel, and the texture can be fairly disappointing too.

The trouble is, ripen-at-home avocadoes are much cheaper in most major supermarkets than ready-to-eat ones – but who wants to wait several days to make their avocado salad?

Luckily for savoury fruit fans everywhere, there is a way to speed up the ripening process.

All you need is an apple and a brown paper bag.

Simply put the apple and the avocado in the bag together and seal it off as best you can.

By leaving the fruits sitting next to each other overnight, the avocado should be ready to eat in the morning.

The same process can be used for ripening tomatoes, but by placing them in a bag with bananas.