An avocado will begin to ripen once harvested, and you’ll know it’s ready to eat when you press into the flesh and feel a soft interior within. While you can preserve the avocado’s ripeness by storing it in the fridge for a few days, there are a few helpful tricks to keep your avocado fresh for as long as possible.

To keep the avocado fresh, try to only remove the skin and seed from the part of the avocado you’re about to eat, as they help prevent the oxidization process from turning your avocados brown. For avocados that are already cut, you can simply store them in an air-tight container with plastic wrap directly on the flesh.

Squeezing citrus on avocados is also helpful for preserving them, and storing them in the freezer can provide long-term preservation. Whole avocados can be frozen for as long as three months, but their consistency can become a bit mushy when you eventually thaw them.