Avocado Tricks

I have heard it through the grape vine....hehehe that some people are intimidated by avocados. If you fall into that category or just dont know to treat them, then this post is for you.


Halving and Coring an Avocado- 
Stand your avocado on its fat bottom and slice straight down through the core on top until you hit core. Then with your knife blade still against the core, turn your avocado until you have cut all the way around. Remove your knife and take one half of the avocado in each hand and twist in opposite directions. You should now have two halves with the core in one half. Take your large chef's knife and whack the heel (nearest part to the handle) of your blade into the core, wedging it in. Twist knife, which should twist your core right out without disturbing the avocado's flesh.


Slowing your avocado's browning-
For short term (couple of hours) preservation, rinse your halved avocados in very cold water.
For longer term preservation (1-2 days) spritz lemon or lime juice over avocado half. Of course then seal in plastic. If preserving a mashed avocado (guacamole) make sure to put plenty of citrus juice on every surface that hits air and top with a lid. AIR is the browning enemy. 


Dicing your halved avocado- 

Cut straight parallel lines across your avocado with about 1/4-1/2" in between, going slow so that when you hit your peel you stop, not cutting through it....just up to it. You could even use a butter knife for this step. Next turn your avocado 180 degrees and do the same thing going the other way. When you are done your avocado should look like this one. Then simply either turn your avocado peel inside out, releasing the flesh OR peel away the peel. Either way you will have lovely square avocado cuts.