You've been told time and time again to cut an avocado in half, slice or dice the flesh in the bowl of the skin, and then use a spoon to scoop your pieces out, like in the video below (interesting tidbit at the very end, if you can stick with it):
But the cut-and-scoop often leaves you (or at least me) with wonky, dented slices and a lot of avocado flesh left clinging to the dark-green skin, beyond the spoon's reach. Plus, it's never a great idea to cut in the palm of your (or at least my!) hand rather than on a flat surface.
For slices (and later, cubes) neat enough to meet the president, it's better to slice, then peel. Cut your avocado in half as you normally would, then place it flat side (that is, flesh side) down on a cutting board and slice thinly.
Peel the skin away from each individual avocado arc, one at a time: You'll leave no flesh behind and each piece's shape will mirror that of the whole fruit.
Beautiful enough to make you cheer! And resourceful, too: You've dirtied one less utensil (the spoon) and reduced your risk of cutting off a finger.
Shop the Story
Of course, it's a bit fussy to peel the skin off individual slices if you're making guacamole or avocado toast—but for photo-worthy avocado roses (or, more realistically, spic-and-span slices to top your tacos), slicing then peeling is the path to perfection.
A (former) student of English, a lover of raisins, a user of comma splices. My spirit animal is an eggplant. I'm probably the person who picked all of the cookie dough out of the cookie dough ice cream. For that, I'm sorry.
FIRST, WASH AVOCADO! OMG, I thought I'd fall asleep watching her attempt to cut that thing open! Quarter, Peal then Cut! I mean, WASH, Quarter, Peal, then Cut!
The darker green of avocado is denser in nutrients, which stays on the meat of the fruit, meaning you don't have to scrape the shell with a spoon. jmo.
Avocado cutting. Cut in half, twist to separate. Now the half with the seed, cut it so that it is in quarters, twist and you will have two quarters one with the seed and it comes right out. Now use your knife to remove the fruit by passing the knife close to the skin. Do this for the other three quarters, of course you will have to cut the half into quarters. Much easier that trying to smack the seed with the knife and/or scooping the fruit with a spoon. You now have the four quarters in perfect shape to do what you want.
Join the Conversation
See what other Food52 readers are saying.