Destoning avocados - How do you do it?

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R

Rosco

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I found out last week that a friend of ours cut her hand really badly while destoning avovados for guacamole. She severed a nerve and an artery, bled really badly, got to hospital and got patched up. Still not got full use or feeling of the finger she damaged and was having an operation last week.
After the initial concern and astonishment died down I thought: "I bet the guys on the forum don't use their good knives for destoning avocados", so my question is this: How do you destone an avocado? I've never actually used one myself as its about a foreign as it gets to an Irish man. Hoping there is a better way that I can tell her to use, and might even try my hand at some guacamole myself!
 
Well, sorry to hear about her. I do whack, not necessary too hard, but I put the avocado half on the cutting board. Never seemed right to swing a knife, especially as sharp as I get them, toward your hand. Care should be taken when removing the stone from the blade also. Whats-his-name from our forum did a good video on this. Of course I can't find it now.
 
If you want to be totally safe, use a tablespoon.

If you use a knife, once you've twisted the stone or pit from the avocado, don't try to grab it and pull it off the blade, as that's where most accidents happen. Instead, use your thumb and forefinger to pinch it off, with your palm over the spine.
 
While he didn't originate this technique (at the least it was my exact technique when I encountered the video), I consider this to be the best approach I've seen:

[video=youtube;yXXb-KdKI_U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXXb-KdKI_U[/video]
 
This is Eamon's vid - I adopted this technique and have used it since. (Not sure who's knife he's using...(Did I just say that?))

[video=youtube_share;yXXb-KdKI_U]http://youtu.be/yXXb-KdKI_U[/video]



Edit - Posting at same time.
 
Zwiefel - that was the video I was looking for. I would add to PT's comment that if the stone is on tight use the side of your waste bin or cutting board; a little tap in the direction to knock off the stone. The potential spring back into the sharp blade from trying to pull the stone off, non-pinch style, gives me nightmares. Also, Irish notwithstanding, you need to explore the potential of avocados; great texture and buttery flavor.
 
I've been doing it Eamon's way since before Eamon was a little sperm.
 
After destoning, when the stone is still on the knife, I simply rock-chop straight through the stone to get it off the knife. No fingers near blade edge for me.
 
99Limited said:
I've been doing it Eamon's way since before Eamon was a little sperm.
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Boy, do I yearn for the days when we lived in CA and shopping for avocados meant walking out back and deciding which ones to pick.
 
With apologies to all you professional chefs and other talented, experienced cooks, but I'm with Seth on this (if I understand his posts correctly). Holding the avocado half in one's hand is IMHO not worth the risk for the average home cook, whether the knife is quite sharp or (yes, shudder!) a bit on the relatively dull side. Either way I think there's too great a likelihood that if one's aim is a bit off -- yeah, some of us may just be sadly a bit lacking in the motor skills/coordination department -- the sort of injury that Rosco's friend experienced will result. I much prefer to play it safe and put the avocado half with pit on a cutting board. Yeah, that means it won't be held securely, which creates an opportunity for all sorts of additional undesired outcomes (e.g., half is not hit squarely and is propelled onto floor), but all things considered I'd rather donate blood in a more planned, intentional manner, like with the Red Cross.
 
For the extreme safety conscious cook there's always this:

avacado%20thingy.jpg



Won't cut your fingers, won't cut your hand, won't cut your avocado.
 
larrybard - I see your method as a way to sever some finger tips or at least a way to peel back some skin. When you have the avocados in your hand you have secure control, control being the key here. And when you go to impale the pit on your blade. It's not like you're taking a full on swing. I see my method way, way less dangerous to my hand than the way I see pros slicing 'n dicing onions and other produce.
 
To each his own. Spoon works if the knife isn't up your alley.

I feel my chances of taking a finger off are much greater in dicing the avocado for guacamole then in the act of destoning it. Whether that means I should dice with a spoon is up for debate. :)
 
99Limited said:
larrybard - I see your method as a way to sever some finger tips or at least a way to peel back some skin. When you have the avocados in your hand you have secure control, control being the key here. And when you go to impale the pit on your blade. It's not like you're taking a full on swing. I see my method way, way less dangerous to my hand than the way I see pros slicing 'n dicing onions and other produce.
Click to expand...

On the other 'hand' if you can't whack on the board accurately, you shouldn't be whacking in your hand. (Oh boy, that doesn't sound right.) [You don't hold the avocado on the board, you tie your other hand behind your back. They teach you that in woodworking school.]
 
daveb said:
For the extreme safety conscious cook there's always this:

avacado%20thingy.jpg



Won't cut your fingers, won't cut your hand, won't cut your avocado.
Click to expand...

[video=youtube;RV7Qz640OeM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV7Qz640OeM&list=PLgfAtmhEJA5lZRcj2Ed4FnpaHil1wTmlS[/video]
 
panda said:
Dave what the hell is that monstrocity!!??
Click to expand...

This monstocity? http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088LR592/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I do some part time prep - catering, demos, etc. for local culinary store. They like me to use it when prepping in front of customers. POS.

I'm convinced the surest way to get rich in the kitchen is to invent something that does the job of a knife, make a dollar profit per and sell a million of them. Repeat.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
PES is awesome, he has quite a few stop-motion animation videos on his channel. Here's another food-related one. And I'd double down on the Jalepeno MB :)

[video=youtube;qBjLW5_dGAM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM&list=PLE30DFC5B7FA8E6E2[/video]
 
These vids are too cool boys. Thanks for sharing.
It's easy to get distracted in a busy kitchen. Particularly with the kind of knives used by forum members, I offer the same advice I give my 6 year old daughter almost constantly. "PayAttention!" Apologies if this sounds patronizing.
 
I use a knife but I don't swing anything. I just press the avocado seed firmly into the blade and when it's deep enough, I twist.
 
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