How to peel an avocado correctly

The avocado, or American Persea (Latin: Persea americana), is an evergreen fruiting plant.

The avocado is a very important fruit crop. The flesh of the fruit is rich in useful vitamins and important minerals. In addition to the fruit, the wood of this tree is equally important, which is mainly used for the production of fittings and sometimes also used as a very good and quality building material. In the past, the most common name used in Russian for this plant was alligator pear, or sometimes agaqat.

What is the avocado

According to archaeological research, the fruit was cultivated as early as the third millennium B.C.

In 1553, the avocado was first written about in literature, in the book Chronicle of Peru by writer Pedro Ciesa de Leon.

Avocados appeared on the shelves of domestic supermarkets quite recently, although among other exotic fruits it is almost impossible not to pay attention to it. This tropical fruit draws attention not only with its bright green, bubbly rind, but also with its unusual shape, similar to that of a common pear. The avocado is not only a delicious fruit, but also incredibly useful. Experts from an Iranian university of medical sciences have discovered that adding an avocado to your daily diet significantly reduces the likelihood of diabetes and vision problems. It also contains a huge amount of plant fats, fiber, vitamins B and C.

This tropical wonder has already managed to become almost a leader among the most popular exotic fruits. It is used as a food both alone and as components to salads, sandwiches, appetizers and many other dishes. But most of us have no idea how to peel the avocado and do it not only correctly but also quickly. Today we want to share with you some ways to properly peel this fruit.

There is much debate and disagreement about whether the avocado is a fruit or a vegetable. But as unusual as it might seem to claim the tropical fruit is a fruit, it is the real truth. The avocado is considered a fruit because it has a pit, which, frankly, is quite oily and should not be eaten in any way. But the pulp of this exotic fruit has a fairly neutral taste and a very delicate consistency, sometimes reminiscent of pine nuts.

Few people will be able to appreciate the specific flavor of this product - buttery, with a predominant taste of herbs. However, this fruit is a rarity for most customers, and choosing an unripe or already decaying fruit in the supermarket can very easily ruin your first impressions of the avocado.

Some important information about the avocado fruit and its selection

Most experts believe that dull skin predominates in ripe fruit and lighter skin in unripe fruit. Ripe, unripe avocados taste best. To select a fruit at the appropriate level of ripeness, you need to use the following rules:

1. The fruit's skin should have a rich, dark green color. The less dull the color of the avocado, the tougher the flesh inside.
2. Pressing the fruit with your fingers shouldn't leave a characteristic dent, but it should feel soft.

From this we can deduce that a bad avocado is characterized by a dull flesh, shrinkage of the rind, and the appearance of characteristic darkening on the surface.

Cleaning an avocado

Getting ready to peel

As you may have heard before, there are several ways to peel an avocado - now let us tell you about them.

Most often the fruit is added to food in its fresh form. In this way, the flesh of the fruit retains all of its medicinal properties, its special consistency, and its individual unparalleled taste. Also, some people like to eat avocados without removing the skin from them, picking out pieces with a spoon.

The seed and skin of the fruit are completely inedible as they include harmful toxins, so you should definitely get rid of them before consuming the fruit. Before peeling the avocado, you should wash your hands thoroughly, as well as the fruit itself, rubbing it with the phalanges of your fingers. The fruit is rinsed under cold or slightly heated water without the use of various detergents, and after these procedures wiped with disposable cloths.

To clean the fruit you will need the following tools:

• kitchen knife;
• cutting board;
• An iron or metal spoon.

The first way to remove the peel

If the fruit is pear-shaped, you need to do as follows:

1. First, wash the avocado thoroughly under warm water and dry it using disposable paper towels (they absorb excess moisture very well).
2. Then carefully cut the avocado in half, as far as the pit of the fruit. You need to make a circular cut along the pit so that the result is two identical halves of the fruit.
3. Then wrap one of the halves at about 90 degrees and break it off directly from the pit.
4. To remove the seed from the remaining half, gently pick it up with the tip of a knife: it will come out without any problems.
5. Halve the avocado in half again and remove the skin from each part. All that remains is to slice the avocado appropriately.

This method of cutting is mainly used to make sandwiches and add to salads (for example: salad with shrimp and avocado, with salmon and avocado).

There is also a more uncomplicated way to get rid of the pit after splitting the fruit into two halves.

It is necessary to do as follows:

1. First, wrap a towel around your hand so that you don't inadvertently hurt it.
2. Then put in your hand an avocado half with the bone upwards.
3. Using force, but with extreme caution, hit the pit with the sharp side of a kitchen knife. Important: The knife should plunge right into the pit, and if it does not happen the first time, you should repeat the steps.
4. Once the avocado pit is firmly fixed with the knife, loosen it with a knife to separate it from the flesh.
5. All that remains is to remove the pit by lifting the knife.

The second way

It is also worth noting that fruits come not only pear-shaped, but also round.

If the fruit has a round shape, you need to do as follows:

1. First, cut it with a knife lengthwise, not across, as in the case of a pear-shaped fruit. All the remaining steps are the same as in the last method.
2. Split one half of the fruit into two pieces again.
3. Next, remove the skin. All that remains is to cut the halves into straws and thin slices.

Storing

We've also got a few avocado storage tips for you:

1. To slow the ripening of the fruit, you should put it in the refrigerator, wrapping the fruit in food film beforehand.
2. It is also possible to store the fruit at room temperature in a place with dim light or no light at all, such as a storage room. Under these conditions, the avocado will continue to ripen, so this method is appropriate for unripe fruit. Avocados in the cupboard can ripen in about 4-8 days.
3. Avocados in a bag together with bananas or peaches or nectarines can speed up the ripening process. All of these fruits secrete ethylene, a special substance that helps the avocado ripen quickly. The fruit will become softer after only 2-3 days. If you don't want to speed up ripening, you should just put the avocado in the refrigerator. Storage time will depend on the ripeness of the fruit and can range from two weeks to 20-30 days or more.
4. If the avocado has already been peeled or cut in half or pieces beforehand, its flesh will fade quite quickly. Moistening it with lemon vinegar or lemon juice and balsamic sauce can slow this process down.
5. To preserve the integrity of the not yet peeled half of the fruit you should wrap it in plastic food wrap, preferably while leaving the seed in place (i.e. without taking it out of the fruit).

The longest way to preserve this tropical fruit is to freeze it completely. Such a temperature treatment is allowed to expose:

• whole fruit;
• The halves without the seed;
• avocado, cut into cubes and placed in plastic bags;
• mashed fruit in plastic cases.

Is it even necessary to peel the avocado for a salad?

Adding an avocado to a salad with the skin not peeled can really ruin the impression of the finished dish. After all, the skin will make it taste a little bitter, and as far as we know - the avocado peel is harmful to the human body. Therefore, when slicing the exotic fruit into a salad, it is still worth getting acquainted with the various ways to get rid of the skin. Then your home and guests will appreciate your efforts, and this exotic wonder will soon become one of the main components of holiday and everyday dishes.

Do I have to peel the avocado when adding it to the rolls?

Yes, it is peeled. Although if we are talking about homemade dish, then it all depends on your tastes.

The algorithm for peeling avocados for rolls is virtually the same, there are only minor changes. First, as always, it is necessary to wash the fruit well. Then cut it into two equal parts and get rid of the pit (according to the old principle described above, we do not need it anymore).

After this process, each half should be divided into two identical parts again. Now our avocado has turned into quarters. Next, each of them should be divided in half again and proceed to peel the fruit from the skin, which can easily come away from the fruit on its own. But in some cases you will have to remove it with a knife. If desired, the slices you get can be divided into two more pieces, depending on the scale of the desired rolls. Based on these cuts, up to four pieces of sliced fruit can go on one roll.

Helpful Hints

We've also prepared some useful tips and tips and tips with avocado:

1. The lemon juice and onion will help protect the avocado from oxidation. If you want to use part of the avocado a little later, you need to spritz it with lemon juice or put it next to the onions. Each of these methods will help you preserve the original hue of the exotic fruit. You don't need to pull out the fruit's seed - with it, the avocado will stay as fresh as it was the first day much longer.
2. Avocados can easily and easily replace butter. It's a great substitute for regular butter. You can safely stop using butter, and your baked goods and other dishes will immediately become not only less unhealthy, but even slightly healthier!
3. You can make avocado rosettes. Making rosettes out of this exotic fruit at first glance seems like a real high-level culinary masterpiece. But the truth is, it's a lot easier. All you need to do is to slice the half of the fruit as thinly as possible, and then arrange the resulting slices according to the principle of a fan. Then it remains only to twist the resulting roses.
4. The avocado can also replace the harmful mayonnaise. You can use avocado instead of mayonnaise in fish or egg salads and appetizers. The delicate texture of the finished dish will remain the same as with mayonnaise, and the dish itself will be many times healthier and tastier.
5. Try replacing bananas with avocados. If you really like to make and drink smoothies, but prefer it to contain as little sugar and glucose as possible, do not add bananas to it. Replace it with avocados. The nutritional components and consistency of the smoothie will remain the same, but there will be noticeably less sugar.
6. You can grow your own avocados at home! All you need to do is to dip the non-sharp tip of the fruit seed into a cup or other small container of water, and use a few toothpicks to pierce it or pick it up to fix it in place. When the seed gives sprouts, it should be transplanted into the ground and wait for the tree to grow.