Making fresh guacamole is certainly not the only reason you would need to mash an avocado, but it's one of the most common. Mashing an avocado is a simple procedure, once you get it out of its skin. The important thing to remember about mashing avocados is that the meat inside turns brown very quickly once it is exposed to the air. This is why so many mashed avocado recipes call for lemon or lime -- the acids in the citrus juice help keep the avocado from turning brown.
Step 1
Wash your avocado by running it under cool water. Dry it thoroughly with paper towels. You will be peeling it, so this is more to help keep your hands clean of anything that might have been on the peel than to protect the finished result.
Step 2
Cut the avocado in half all the way around lengthwise, cutting all the way down to the large pit inside of it.
Step 3
Twist the halves of the avocado gently in opposite directions from each other to separate them. If the avocado is ripe, they will come apart fairly easily.
Step 4
Hold the avocado half with the pit in it in your non-dominant hand and scoop out the seed with a spoon held in your other hand. Do this over the sink, because avocado pits can come unstuck suddenly and fly off in unexpected directions.
Step 5
Discard the seed and use the spoon to scoop the avocado meat into a bowl. Repeat for any remaining avocados and then sprinkle the avocado meat with lemon or lime juice, according to your recipe.
Step 6
Mash the avocado meat by pressing down on it repeatedly with the back of a fork. Stop to stir it around a bit every once in awhile and then resume gently mashing until the avocado has reached the consistency you desire.
Tips and Warnings
- Spread mashed avocado on bread to add a little extra flavor to sandwiches.
- Never try to cut the avocado pit in half with the avocado; the pits are simply too hard and too slippery.
Things You'll Need
- Water
- Paper towels
- Knife
- Spoon
- Bowl
- Lemon or lime juice
- Fork
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