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When buying this exotic fruit for the first time, most people do not know whether they need to peel an avocado and how to do it correctly. This is not surprising: after all, some people simply haven’t had time to try the unusual fruit and don’t know how to handle it correctly.
Do you need to peel an avocado?
Avocado, or alligator pear, is very popular among adherents of a healthy lifestyle. Its pulp is very healthy, it consists of easily digestible fats and vitamins K, C, E, B. Before eating, it is recommended to thoroughly wash and peel the avocado. The skin of the fruit has no distinct taste. It is quite tough and contains toxins, which, if individually intolerant, cause an allergic reaction and gastrointestinal upset.
How to peel an avocado at home
The skin of the avocado fruit is rough. Uneven surfaces can harbor a lot of dirt and germs. Therefore, before peeling an avocado at home, be sure to wash the fruit under warm water using a soft sponge.It is also important to do this so that when removing the peel, microbes do not get onto the pulp.
The skin of a ripe fruit literally peels off from the pulp itself. It is easy to peel it with your hands, simply by starting to pull the peel away from the stalk. You can also arm yourself with a knife and peel the fruit “like a potato,” cutting the peel from top to bottom. Another way is to peel an avocado like a banana: after cutting off the top, pull the skin down with the edge of the knife. But these options are not suitable for hard, unripe fruit. To properly peel a green avocado, you need to take a sharp small knife and carefully cut off the skin, trying to remove as little pulp as possible. You can better understand how to peel an avocado from the video:
How to remove the pit from an avocado
The pit in the alligator pear fruit is not edible. It, like the peel, contains toxic substances. Therefore, in order to avoid negative consequences, it is recommended to eat only fruits that have been completely peeled.
To remove the pit, you need to cut the avocado in half: insert a knife into the center of the wide part of the fruit and insert it into the flesh until the blade rests on the bone, then continue cutting the fruit along the bone. You should end up with two halves: one with the bone, the other without. The bone can be removed with a spoon by simply picking it up from below. Some people pull out the bone with a knife: sticking a blade into it, twisting it to the sides.
How to cut an avocado
Ripe avocados have a very soft texture, making them easy to cut in a variety of ways for specific dishes. For salads, peeled avocado is often cut into cubes, and for rolls - into strips.In addition, the pulp can be crushed with a fork if you need to prepare a sauce, such as guacamole. This is a very popular cold appetizer, the basis of which is avocado pore. For guacamole, it is not necessary to completely grind the pulp of the peeled fruit; small whole pieces are allowed. The resulting puree is mixed with lemon juice and salt. Sometimes tomatoes, chopped herbs and various spices are used as additional ingredients.
How to cut an avocado in half
To properly cut an avocado in half, you need to take a knife no more than 15 cm long, otherwise it will be awkward to work with. Place the peeled fruit on a cutting board and start cutting at the widest part of the fruit. You need to keep pressing the blade until it reaches the bone. As soon as the knife rests on the bone, you should continue to cut the upper part of the fruit in a straight line. Then, on the top part, draw an approximate cut line on the other side and do everything in the same way. The cut lines should be in the same places on both sides. After this, take the fruit and place your hand on its upper half. Then scroll both parts left and right so that the flesh moves away from the bone, and remove the upper half.
Cutting the fruit in half can make a nutritious breakfast. The fruit should be cleaned of the bones and the peel should be left on. Break one egg into each half. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake in the oven at 180° C for 15 - 20 minutes. Garnish the finished dish with finely chopped parsley.
How to cut an avocado for sandwiches
Avocado is distinguished by its delicate, oily pulp, which is why sandwiches with it have a very unusual texture and taste. To prepare, you need to select a fresh ripe fruit, wash it, peel and pit it.Then take half the fruit and cut into slices no more than 0.5 cm wide. Pieces of fruit are ideal for sandwiches with salmon and cream cheese, for which you will need the following ingredients:
- 250 g of red fish (lightly salted salmon or chum salmon);
- 150 g curd cheese;
- 1 fresh cucumber;
- 1 avocado;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- sandwich bread;
- dill and lemon juice to taste.
First you need to mix the cream cheese and herbs in a blender. Then peel the cucumber, grate it, remove excess juice and mix with cheese. Then add chopped garlic and salt. Fry the pieces of bread a little in a frying pan without oil, place the fish on them. Top with cottage cheese and another piece of fish. Place avocado, peeled and cut into slices, on top of the fish and sprinkle everything with lemon juice.
For sandwiches, avocado is also used as a spread on bread. To do this, peel the fruit, divide it into two halves and, taking a small knife, then cut the pulp into squares, being careful not to damage the skin.
Then take out all the pulp with a spoon and chop it with a fork or using a blender. The result is a paste that can be seasoned with lemon juice and salt and spread on bread instead of butter. This is a great breakfast option for those who are on a diet or fasting.
How to cut an avocado for salad
Avocado pieces, cut into cubes, are often used in salads. To cut an avocado for salad, it must be peeled and boned. Then take one half of the fruit and chop it into cubes of the desired size. This is how you can prepare a salad with shrimp and yogurt, for which you will need:
- 450 g shrimp;
- 2 bell peppers;
- 2 avocados;
- 1 cucumber;
- 50 g cilantro;
- 100 g cherry tomatoes;
- 100 g Greek yogurt;
- 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar;
- 1 clove of garlic.
Peel the shrimp and cook for no more than three minutes. Wash all the vegetables, chop the cilantro, cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Cut the avocado and cucumber into small cubes. Peel the pepper, divide into small slices and cut into cubes. For the dressing, mix yogurt with apple cider vinegar and chopped garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place all the vegetables in a deep bowl and mix with the sauce, and garnish with cilantro on top.
How to cut an avocado for rolls
Ripe and soft avocado is an important ingredient for making good rolls. To make the dish successful, you need to choose the right fruit. If you take an unripe fruit, it will be difficult to cut and spoil the taste.
In rolls, avocado is often cut into strips. To do this, you need to peel the fruit, divide it into two halves and remove the bone. Then take one part and cut it. Peel the resulting quarters (you can cut it off with a knife or simply pull it so that it separates from the pulp). After this, cut the halves into small strips. In this form, the fruit is used as a filling for vegetarian or California rolls. In addition, there are rolls in which avocado is placed on top. In this case, the peeled fruit halves are cut into thin slices. When slicing, you need to use a sharp knife, otherwise the pieces will turn out sloppy.
Useful tips
Avocados come in many varieties, and the color of the fruit can vary from green to brown. However, there is one rule for everyone: the darker the color of the peel, the more ripe the fruit will be. The softness of the fruit is an important criterion when choosing a good avocado. When you press on the skin, it should bend, but easily return to its original shape.If the peel is too soft, this is a sign that the fruit may be overripe and beginning to deteriorate near the pit. The stalk of a ripe fruit is dry and easily separated or absent altogether. The place where the stalk is attached should also be soft.
Selecting a ripe avocado successfully the first time is quite a difficult task. This requires some experience, as with watermelons and melons. Often, fruits that look ripe and fresh turn out to be rotten at the pit. This is due to improper transportation and storage of fruit in the store. In order not to be disappointed with your purchase, you can choose an unripe fruit and ripen it at home.
On plantations, avocados are picked while they are still firm, and they ripen during transportation. To ripen at home, the fruit is placed in a paper bag or simply wrapped in paper and put in a cool, dark place. You can put bananas in the same bag with avocados: they emit a special gas - ethylene, which speeds up ripening. But even without such “neighbors,” the avocado will ripen in 3 to 5 days.
If the fruits have been cut but not yet peeled, they can be preserved for further use for some time. To do this, protect the pulp from darkening with lemon juice. After processing, the fruit is placed in a plastic container with a lid or wrapped in cling film and stored in the refrigerator.
Conclusion
Learning to peel an avocado is easy: to do this, you need to choose a ripe fruit in the store and arm yourself with a good knife. And the peeled pulp is pleasant to simply eat or use in various dishes.
