Got guacamole? Now’s the time to enjoy this wonderful and nutritious dip as delicious locally grown avocado varieties come into season.

Making their way to farmers markets and supermarkets are the Sharwills, nutty and creamy, and the Malama, smooth and stringless with a small seed. Hawaii-grown avocados have great nutty flavor and are buttery, rich and smooth in texture — good reasons to buy local avocados instead of those imported from the mainland.

Avocados ripen best after being picked, so they need a few days to ripen. Place them in a paper bag and leave them on the kitchen counter to help the process.

When an avocado yields to gentle pressure, it’s ready to eat. Enjoy it at its peak, sliced on its own with a drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of Meyer lemon, salt and pepper. Include avocado in a salad or, of course, make guacamole.

Store ripe avocados in the refrigerator. If you have an abundance of avocados, remove the skin and seed and pack the flesh into a plastic freezer bag. Sprinkle with lemon juice, remove excess air from the bag, seal and freeze. Use frozen avocado for guacamole or puree it for soups.

Exposure to air causes avocados to discolor, so cutting avocados just before serving is always a good idea. Or sprinkle cut avocados with a little lemon or lime juice to prevent the color change. If you make guacamole and need to store it before serving, cover it with plastic wrap and press the wrap onto the surface of the guacamole to remove the air.

Hawaii food writer Joan Namkoong offers a weekly tidbit on fresh seasonal products, many of them locally grown. Look for "Fresh Tips" every Wednesday.