How to Cut Your Avocado the Right Way
The avocado has become a popular fruit over the years. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to cut it, and some people even end up having accidents when attempting to remove the pit. 5-Minute Crafts decided to create a guide on how to cut avocados in a safe way. Some people use a special avocado slicer. That’s okay too, but if you don’t have one, you can always use the following:
1. A cutting board
2. A paring knife
3. A chef’s knife
4. A spoon (preferably a big one)
Note that slicing an avocado with a 100% ceramic knife could help prevent some of the browning.
Method 1: the classic way
1. Remove the stem.
Carefully remove the stem of the avocado (if it still has it) for it to not bother you later on when slicing the avocado open.
Tip: The skin under the stem is a good indicator of how ripe your avocado is. If it comes off easily and you find green underneath, you’ve got a good avocado. If it’s brown, the avocado is overripe, and if the stem doesn’t come off, it’s not yet ripe enough to eat.
2. Cut the avocado lengthwise.
Hold the avocado with your free hand (if you’re a leftie, that would be your right hand). Slide the knife through the skin until you feel you’ve reached the pit.
Tips:
? Some people prefer to place the avocado on a cutting board instead of holding it while slicing it. That’s a good technique too. Just keep in mind that even if it seems safer to do it that way, holding the avocado in your hand can give you more stability.
? If the avocado is very ripe, use a butter knife for this step. Otherwise, a paring knife will do the job just fine.
3. Spin the avocado around the blade.
Slice around the pit while maintaining the knife’s contact with the pit. You’ll be rotating the avocado around the blade and not the other way around. That way, you’ll cut the avocado in half, lengthwise, around the pit. Remove the blade and set it aside.
4. Twist the avocado halves to separate them.
Hold one avocado half in each hand and twist them in opposite directions to separate them.
5. Remove the pit.
Take a sturdy kitchen knife with one hand and hold the avocado with the other hand (if you’re a leftie, you’d hold the avocado with your right hand). Tap the heel of your knife on the pit. It has to be a small, controlled tap. The idea is to get the knife to stay embedded in the pit. Rotate your knife to loosen up the pit, then lift it up.
Tips:
? Use a proper kitchen knife with enough weight and sharpness to be safe.
? Some people like wearing steel mesh gloves when performing this operation.
? If you’re afraid of cutting yourself or you don’t have the proper knife at hand, slice the avocado halves to make quarters. You’ll then be able to remove the pit by holding it with your fingertips and pulling it out gently.
DO NOT:
❌ Swing down forcefully and don’t lift the knife so high that you risk losing control over its motion. You might cut your hand this way.
❌ Attempt to remove the pit by inserting the knife under it, point first. You could cut your hand if you do this.
6. Slice the avocado halves.
Set your avocado half on a cutting board. Hold the avocado steady with your fingers and cut it lengthwise using your paring knife. Cut through the flesh, but try not to cut the skin.
Tips:
? When you’re halfway through, you can rotate the avocado 180 degrees to slice the other half.
? If you want to dice it, make the same lengthwise slices. Then turn the avocado 90 degrees and make cross cuts. When you’re halfway through, rotate the avocado 180 degrees to slice the rest of the avocado crosswise.
7. Scoop the flesh out.
Using a big spoon, scoop the avocado slices or diced pieces, and enjoy!
Tip: You can rotate the avocado around the spoon to make things easier.
1. Slice the avocado widthwise
Set your avocado on a cutting board. Using a knife, slice through the skin of the avocado and turn the avocado around the blade to cut rings. Repeat the operation until you can see the pit.
Tip: You can do anything from 1/4-inch rings to 1/2-inch rings.
2. Carefully cut around the pit.
Once you see the pit, just use the same technique to cut around the pit. Carefully loosen the avocado ring from the pit and repeat the process.
❌ DO NOT attempt to cut through, slice, or stab the pit, otherwise, you might end up suffering from the dreaded avocado hand. Instead, just continue cutting around it widthwise. It will eventually be easier to remove it (see next step).
3. Remove the pit.
Now you can just remove the pit by pulling it out with your fingers or by making it pop out of the ring if it’s still stuck to it. Proceed to slice the rest of the avocado as you did in step 1.
4. Slice the skin vertically and peel.
Now the only thing left for you to do is peel the avocado rings. Start by cutting the skin vertically. This would be a single exterior cut. Make sure not to cut the flesh, then remove the skin with your hands, and enjoy!
Bonus: How to make avocado roses
1. Cut your avocado in half, peel it, and remove the pit.
2. Take a sharp, thin knife and carefully make horizontal slices on the avocado half.
3. With your fingers, gently fan out the avocado to create a straight line of slices.
4. Starting from the smallest end, roll the avocado slices up into a rose-like shape.