Cutting avocados can be dangerous and "avocado hand" has been known to admit its fair share of people to the ER.
But celebrity chef Cat Cora’s method on cutting an avocado can help you avoid a visit to the hospital and instead let you enjoy the vegetable diced on a salad, salsa or in guacamole.
1. On a large cutting board, use a sharp knife and cut all the way around the avocado. Make sure you’re hitting the seed. Wiggle and twist the avocado so that it pulls apart and you have two halves.
2. Keep your avocado on the cutting board and slice the avocado longways first. Then turn it width-wise and slice across. Don’t cut through the skin.
3. To get the pit out, stick your knife right into the pit. Wiggle and twist the knife so that the pit is pulled out smoothly. Again, keep the avocado on the cutting board to avoid avocado hand.
4. Once the pit is out, slice this half of the avocado the same as the other half: slice longways and then slice width-wise. Don’t cut through the avocado’s skin.
5. Take a spoon and scoop the avocado out of both halves. Throw it onto a salad or salsa or use the diced pieces to prep or make a chunkier guacamole.