To Peel Or To Scoop Your Avocado? Here's The Answer To This Creamy Conundrum

Using avocados adds a fresh zing to dishes while also tacking on myriad well-researched health benefits. But slicing those jumbo pulpy green fruits can be a bit of a hassle. There are two common ways to approach the produce — peeling or scooping — but one easily ranks supreme. The favored method is to slash the avocado in half, take out the pit, and then cube the green smooth flesh before using a spoon to scoop it out. While the soft blocks may not all be the same size, this hack leads to less kitchen clean-up and a shorter amount of time with the cutting board.

The second strategy is nowhere near as quick as the first and can get messy, as peeling a ripe avocado is a slimy business. Then you still have to carefully slice and dice the creamy sections on the chopping block, which can be very slithery. 

The scariest part of avocado prep is getting the pit out. And while many folk attack the half of the fruit with the spherical brown seed in with a sharp knife, this is actually pretty dangerous. The safest way to remove the pit is to use a spoon.

When it comes time to whipping up crave-worthy guacamole or making a green goddess salad dressing, a trip to the grocery store to pick out the avocados is a necessity. Keep an eye for several things while perusing the cold aisles in the fruits and veggies section, such as its stem appearance, color, and firmness of the produce. If an avocado's skin is dark green or purple, then the fruit is ripe enough and the flavor should be top tier. Next, squeeze the avocado in your hand, but not too hard. The interior shouldn't feel too pulpy, and also not too dense for it to be perfect for your recipe.

Also take a gander at the small knobbly avocado stem, as this is a major way to measure which fruit is ready for purchase. The scientific name for it is the pedicel, which is also the nubby piece that sits on top of the product that remains from when it was cut from the tree branch. To check if the avocado is ripe, strip off the stem with your nail. If it's hard to take off, then the fruit isn't mature enough for slicing. But if you find that the stalk part comes off and the avocado top is brown, then it is past its ripe stage and should be eaten quickly. An ideal crop will have its stem detach effortlessly and the avocado is a light green tint.