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The best way to slice and get the flesh from an avocado

Jill Dupleix
Jill Dupleix

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First, make sure your avocado is firm, ripe and ready to eat.

The rough-skinned Hass avocado is ripe when the skin turns a darker purply-black. The green smooth-skinned Reed is ripe when it starts to feel a little loose in its skin.

But every avocado has its own built-in sign under the stalk. Pick it off and take a look – if it's green underneath, it's good to go. If it's brown – it's gone already. If it's hard to pick off, it's not yet ripe.

Cutting the avocado

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Now, cut your avocado in half lengthwise around the stone. One little twist and you have two halves.

To remove the stone, whack your knife into it - twist - and pull out.

Scooping and slicing the flesh

To get the flesh from an avocado half, you'll need a nice big spoon. Just ease it under the round end of the avocado and gently slide it along the skin and lift. That's it, ready to serve, chop or slice.

If you want to fan it out, cut 1cm parallel slices, then smoosh it along the chopping board with the side of your knife blade.

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Or do what the food stylists do - place the halved avocado cut-side down on a board and cut it the way you want it, through the skin then peel each slice individually - you get a really clean finish this way.

An avocado hack

And finally? Turn your avocado into a jar. Lop off the top like a boiled egg - that becomes your lid - and dig in with a knife around the stone. Spread that creamy green richness all over sourdough toast, then pop the 'lid' back on and keep it in the fridge door until next time. As you use up the avocado, work your way around the stone to about half way, then trim off the top half of the skin. Use the flesh as the 'lid' and cover any remaining avocado with plastic wrap until you get to the bottom.

RECIPE

For the best avocado on toast, grill a thick slice of sourdough. Brush with olive oil infused with a smashed clove of garlic. Pile high with crushed avocado, and scatter with sea salt, black pepper, pomegranate seeds, coriander and lime.

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Jill DupleixJill Dupleix is a Good Food contributor and reviewer who writes the Know-How column.

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