Have you or someone you know been a victim of avocado hand? This injury caused by lacerating your palm while trying to remove the pit from an avocado is so common that there's even a name for it. But it can be avoided, which is good news for avocado lovers everywhere.
Cooking Tips
What's the Best Way to Remove the Pit from an Avocado?
Hint: It doesn't involve a trip to the emergency room.
By Published July 29, 2019.
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How to Safely Pit an Avocado
Enjoying an avocado shouldn’t be fraught with danger.
The most important thing is to make sure your avocado is ripe: It should be just a bit soft when you give it a squeeze. This means that its grip on the pit will be slightly loose, which makes it easier to deal with.
Note: We’ve tried a thousand ways to hasten avocado ripening, but the fact is that the only surefire method is time. Even the hardest avocado should ripen on the counter in two to five days.
If your avocado is going to be mashed into guacamole, or you want to use it in a recipe where it is processed into a dip, such as our Chickpea and Poblano Quesadillas, the easiest thing to do is to slice it all the way around, pole to pole. Then, slice it again, all the way around the equator. You now have four pieces of avocado. The pit will fall away, or you can scoop it out with a spoon.