I cut in half, and lay the half down flat. Then I cut off just the very end from each side which makes it easier to lift the peel off. Then slice. Usually works, but occasionally there’s difficulty. Isn’t that life?
Using a chef’s knife, cut around core and twist to separate halves. The core will remain stuck on one side.
Holding the side with the core in your off-hand, (gently) chop the knife into the core and twist to remove it from the avocado half. Reaching around the back side of the blade, pinch the core off with your fingers.
Scoop the avocado flesh from the skins using a large spoon, then slice/dice/mash as desired.
That’s how I learned to do it (in a tex-mex chain restaurant), anyway. I think maybe we were supposed to use one of those cut-proof gloves for step #2, but nobody bothered.
Step 2 should be: Put the side with the seed DOWN skin-side down, and lightly whack the long sharp edge of the knife into the seed without risking your hand. If you’re afraid of the avocado escaping, hold one end, but don’t put your whole palm directly in the line of cut. A lot of people wind up in the ER because avocado seeds are slippery and may send the blade askew, or just because they missed. Twist to pop out the seed, and whack the handle on the edge of your trashcan to dislodge it into the trash.
I worked in the ED for a decade and this is very true. Avocado injuries might be the most common non allergic good injury. I do mine like this guy says. Usually 3 or 4 a day. I only use butter knives to cut them and the wacking the seed still works. I then take the knife and make either slices or grids in the fruit while it is in the peel and use a spoon to scoop out the pre cut flesh
Of course, you could just use a spoon to remove the pit. Or I saw another variant where you push it out from the “back” of the side its stuck in once cut in half, no tool needed beyond the initial halving
Read the lines before that – or at least read the “also” to notice stabbing is a secondary injury.
Mostly: just put the avocado down! ERs feel the need to warn about how common an accident this is, so why tempt fate?
People lose their grip on the avocado and accidentally slice their palms or fingers, doctors have warned. When this happens, there’s a high likelihood of people accidentally severing their nerves or tendons. However, people also tend to stab themselves in the hand as they attempt to use the knife tip to remove the avocado pit.
From the Sun:
Wolfe recommended holding an avocado down on a cutting board and slicing into it with the dominant hand, cutting around the fruit at the equator, then rolling it halfway over and cutting again, according to CBS New York.
But then again, I grew up eating ripe, if not nearly overripe avocados, the kind whose flesh would turn into mush if you try to grab them. So, yeah, I would just slice the avocado in half (going around the pit), remove the pit, and then scoop out the flesh.
Best thing in brought home from my time in SEA are these very basic asian metal spoons.
They are quite thin and have a sharper edge then normal spoons which makes them perfect for scooping out avocados, mangos, the seeds of pumpkins and all kind of melons or vegetables for filling (like the core of a zucchini or cucumber).
I really wouldn’t want to miss them, they are so versatile.
People who try and peel whole avocados amaze me.
I think in general there’s a lot of fruit hacks that folks aren’t familiar with - it pays to search the web for “How to peel X”.
Does one peel an avocado? I’ve always used a knife to cut to the core all the way around and pull it apart, then scoop out the flesh.
I cut in half, and lay the half down flat. Then I cut off just the very end from each side which makes it easier to lift the peel off. Then slice. Usually works, but occasionally there’s difficulty. Isn’t that life?
That’s how I learned to do it (in a tex-mex chain restaurant), anyway. I think maybe we were supposed to use one of those cut-proof gloves for step #2, but nobody bothered.
Step 2 should be: Put the side with the seed DOWN skin-side down, and lightly whack the long sharp edge of the knife into the seed without risking your hand. If you’re afraid of the avocado escaping, hold one end, but don’t put your whole palm directly in the line of cut. A lot of people wind up in the ER because avocado seeds are slippery and may send the blade askew, or just because they missed. Twist to pop out the seed, and whack the handle on the edge of your trashcan to dislodge it into the trash.
I worked in the ED for a decade and this is very true. Avocado injuries might be the most common non allergic good injury. I do mine like this guy says. Usually 3 or 4 a day. I only use butter knives to cut them and the wacking the seed still works. I then take the knife and make either slices or grids in the fruit while it is in the peel and use a spoon to scoop out the pre cut flesh
So many injuries doing that:
¯\_(ツ)_/
They’re not doing it right. You don’t stab the pit with the point of the blade, it’s more like a chop.
https://youtu.be/eGd6GfHG77I
Of course, you could just use a spoon to remove the pit. Or I saw another variant where you push it out from the “back” of the side its stuck in once cut in half, no tool needed beyond the initial halving
Read the lines before that – or at least read the “also” to notice stabbing is a secondary injury.
Mostly: just put the avocado down! ERs feel the need to warn about how common an accident this is, so why tempt fate?
From the Sun:
I do this too when I can. It works so well but it’s not a guarantee with every avocado.
This is if you’re going to use the entire half of the avocado too, which I almost always do, if not the full fruit.
Cut in half, remove core, scoop with a spoon.
Wait, what? Peel avocados? Just why?
But then again, I grew up eating ripe, if not nearly overripe avocados, the kind whose flesh would turn into mush if you try to grab them. So, yeah, I would just slice the avocado in half (going around the pit), remove the pit, and then scoop out the flesh.
Cut in half, use knife to pull out core, score the flesh into little cubes, scoop out.
Yeah, I learned how to peel pomegranates from a ten-second video.
Best thing in brought home from my time in SEA are these very basic asian metal spoons.
They are quite thin and have a sharper edge then normal spoons which makes them perfect for scooping out avocados, mangos, the seeds of pumpkins and all kind of melons or vegetables for filling (like the core of a zucchini or cucumber).
I really wouldn’t want to miss them, they are so versatile.
My process: