Are you ready to be that gal or guy that brings over the best guacamole any of your friends have ever had? After reading this, everyone will love you and your famous guac. Do you pride yourself on your amazing sandwiches? You will after this. But it all starts with the avocado and how you cut it.
The best way to tell a ripe avocado is by feel. Hold it in your hand as you would the remote control and give it a gentle squeeze. An unripe (not ready) avocado feels like a stone. A nearly ripe avocado will yield slightly under the pressure, like a ripe tomato. A truly ripe one is as soft as the padded palm of your hand. Avoid the ones that feel loose in their skin. These are overripe. If you’re buying avocados right now to make guacamole for tonight’s party, then get ones that are just the slightest bit squishy.
Now you’ve got the perfect avocados, how do you cut them safely and quickly without damaging them?
1) Grip the avocado gently on one side with your hand. With a large, sharp knife in the other hand, cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Open the two halves to expose the pit.
2) At this point there are three ways you can remove the pit from the avocado half . One way is to continue cutting around the pit, exposing it so that it is easier to remove. Another way is to use a spoon to scoop out the pit.
The third way is to gently tap the pit with the blade of the knife. Make sure you use enough force so that the knife edge wedges into the pit, but not into your hand. For safety, use a folded kitchen towel to hold the avocado half and protect your hand. I generally just tap it very gently a few times, each with increasing pressure, until the knife sticks in the pit.
Twist the pit out of the avocado with the knife blade and discard. Be careful removing the pit from the knife.
3) Now, you can either scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon (for making guacamole), or slice the avocado into segments. It is easier to scoop out the flesh by taking a small dinner knife and gently making cuts in the avocado half in a cross-hatch pattern. Be careful not to break through the peel. Then use a spoon to scoop out the pieces. If you are making guacamole, its okay to mash the slightly discolored or brownish sections in with the rest.
To make avocado slices for a sandwich or salad, use a knife to slice the inside of the avocado halves into sections. Don’t worry if you cut through the peel.
4) Use your fingers to separate the avocado segments from the peel.
Now you have perfect avocado slices for any recipe.
There are a few tools that really make this easier. First, sharp knives: A good set of sharp and sexy knives lasts you forever. The other thing that can save a lot of time is an avocado slicer and scoop. If you love guacamole or love to have avocado in your salads or sandwiches, then you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by picking up a slicer or scoop. They’re easy to use and over 70% of our readers pick one up after reading this how to. We’ve tried them all and the ones on the left are our favorites.
Oh and if you’re going to have a Mexican food night, you better get some margarita mix too!
Happy slicing – HowToCutAnAvocado.com