An avocado slicer is a kitchen tool which is designed to facilitate the cutting and peeling of avocados. These tasty fruits can be difficult and messy to handle in the kitchen, especially when they are extremely ripe. Using an avocado slicer ensures that all the edible flesh is removed, with minimal mess. Many kitchen supply stores sell avocado slicers, and the tools are also available through special order. You can also try searching for “avocado slicer” on your favorite kitchen supply website.
Both plastic and metal are used to make avocado slicers. The basic construction remains the same. An avocado sliver has a long handle attached to a rounded blade. Inside the blade, a small series of plastic blades or wires are mounted. After an avocado has been cut in half and pitted, the avocado slicer can be dragged along inside the peel, cutting neatly even slices of avocado and also separating the fruit from the peel. An avocado slicer is designed with a great deal of flexibility, so that it can be used on avocados of all sizes.
Once sliced, the avocado can be used in that form on salads and other dishes, or it can be further chopped for specific purposes. Using an avocado slicer also helps loosen up the flesh for guacamole, avocado soup, and other dishes in which the fruit will be ultimately creamed or pureed. After use, the avocado slicer should be washed and dried immediately, if it is metal, to avoid rust. Many plastic avocado slicers are dishwasher safe, or they can be washed with regular dishes and placed into a dish rack.
The avocado tree is native to Central and Southern America. It yields black to green fruits of varying size, depending on the cultivar. Technically, avocados are considered berries by botanical classification, but most consumers think of them as fruits, or possibly vegetables. They are distinguished by dense, creamy flesh with a distinctive flavor which many consumers are extremely fond of. Avocados also tend to be expensive, so using an avocado slicer ensures that every possible edible part of the fruit is extracted.
Avocados will ripen off the tree, and in fact usually drop from the tree before they are ripe in the wild. They have rough peels which start out a grassy green and mature to a deep blackish green. To hasten the ripening of avocados, they can be stored with bananas, which emit ethylene gas, a ripening agent. Ripening can also be arrested by keeping avocados under refrigeration until they are ready to use. When selecting avocados for consumption, look for evenly colored specimens which yield slightly when squeezed, but do not feel mushy.