Toolbox: Pit an Avocado

Step One: Slice the Avocado in Half

Make sure the avocado is ripe and ready to slice.
If the avocado is rock hard, it will need a few days to ripen, but if an avocado yields slightly to gentle pressure, it is ripe enough to slice. Avocados which dent slightly when squeezed are too ripe to slice, but are suitable for mashing. However, avocados which feel hollow in places or dent too easily are overripe and will have darkened and spoiled inside.

RUN the knife around the avocado, lengthwise, slitting it the whole way around.

TWIST the two halves in separate directions.

SEPARATE the two halves of the avocado.

Woman cutting an avocado in half using a chef knife.

Step Two: Remove the Pit

HOLD the avocado in one hand and knife in the other.

CAREFULLY KNOCK the blade of the knife into the middle of the pit, getting it firmly stuck.

TWIST the knife slightly to loosen the pit.

SLOWLY PULL the knife back up towards you and the pit should come out.

A woman punctures the seed of an avocado using a chef knife.

Seed removed from avocado with a chef knife.

Step Three: Peel the Skin

DICED: If you want your avocado diced into cubes, do not remove the skin. Instead, use your knife to cut the avocado both horizontally and vertically inside the skin. Once it is cut into sqaures, use a spoon to scoop the cubed avocado out.

SLICED: If you want your avocado cut into slices, cut the halved avocado into a quarter by slicing it directly down the middle.

PEEL the skin off the avocado using your hands. Make sure not to dig your nails into the meat of the avocado and make dents in the fruit.

Avocado being cut into slices with a chef knife.

Woman removing the skin from a quarter piece of an avocado.

Step Four: Slice It Up

TURN the avocado center face down onto the chopping board.

SLICE the avocado vertically and evenly. Be careful not to cut your fingers. It is best to curl your finger-tips inwards while using a knife to slice, keeping them out of the way of the knife’s blade.

GET FANCY by slicing the avocado but avoiding separating the pieces entirely. If attached slightly, the slices can be pulled apart like a fan, making it nice for presentation.

Froggy-Dipper Guacamole.

Did you get an avocado that was a little too soft? Turn it into guacamole.
Here’s our favorite go-to guacamole recipe:

What You Need:

1 avocado – peeled and pitted.
1/4 red onion, minced
1 tbs. cilantro, finely chopped
Squeeze of Lime Juice
Salt
Lime
Raisins
Blue corn chips
Optional: diced tomatoes

Bowl of guacamole with lime slices and raisins for eyes and red pepper slices for a mouth surrounded by blue corn tortilla chips.

Method:

Mash your avocado, using a fork. Be careful not to overdo it – keep it a little bit chunky.
Add cilantro, onion, lime and salt.
Keep mashing the mixture until all ingredients are combined.
Taste your guacamole before serving to see if it needs more salt or lime.
Serve your guacamole – ours is portioned for one, so we serve it in a small ramekin.
Add two slices of lime as eyes.
Addtwo rasins as pupils.
Add a slice of red pepper as the mouth.
Surround the ramekin with blue corn chips for dipping.