I mostly encounter Florida Avocados or Hass Avocados. The larger Florida Avocados will do as a slice alongside your meal. The more flavorful Hass is the way to go for guacamole and other avocado-heavy meals. To choose an avocado, you need to know exactly when you want to eat it. You can't always get perfectly ripe avocados, so you may have to change your plans depending on what you find. A ripe, ready-to-eat avocado will be soft under your fingertips when you apply some pressure. If it takes barely any pressure at all to push in the side, the avocado is overripe. If an avocado is rock hard, it will usually be ready to eat within 2-3 days if left at room temperature (based on my experience with Hass Avocados). You can store an avocado in the refrigerator to prolong the under-ripe stage, but I feel this changes the flavor of the flesh, making it a bit bland. Once an avocado is ripe, there isn't much you can do to keep it at that stage. You need to eat it or mix it with other ingredients within a day or so.
Here is the easiest way to get into an avocado with minimal stress and mess. First, slice your avocado lengthwise all the way around the large pit in the middle. You don't need a particularly sharp knife. Anything sharper than a butter knife should do. You will end up with halves that look like this:
Ignore the bits of dill on that cutting board. I was making an avocado soup that failed miserably. To remove the pit, hold the avocado in one hand and your knife in the other. Use one hard whack into the pit (making sure to miss your fingers). The knife will become lodged in the pit, like so:
Then simply twist the knife 90 degrees and the pit will pop right out!
Be careful removing the pit from the knife. It can take some force. Try to use something other than your hand to wedge it off if you are using a particularly sharp knife.
Slicing the avocado is even easier. Use a butter knife (anything sharper might pierce the skin into your hand) to slice through the avocado while it is still in its skin. Make a crosshatch pattern and then use a spoon to scoop the cubes out into a bowl.
Try to resist the urge to use the empty skins as a little food boat. No one likes inedible items on their plate. They may, however, make nice individual guacamole bowls. Yes, individual bowls. I would eat that much guacamole.
Have brown avocado? Don't worry! It doesn't mean it has gone bad. Slice off the brown part and there should be more bright green underneath. The avocado flesh oxidizes when exposed to open air. To prevent this, squirt some lime or lemon on the surface. The citrus will keep it looking fresh.
Recipe Adventure Time!
Just kidding. It's just a recipe for guacamole, so I guess it isn't too adventurous. However, it will be delicious. This is what I generally put in my guacamole. I eyeball everything, so these are to be altered to your taste. Keep it simple!
2 Hass Avocados
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 small vine-ripe tomato (sometimes)
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper (be generous with the salt)
If it doesn't pop on your taste buds, you either need more salt or lime. Add ONE at a time and taste.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
