Avocados are everywhere nowadays, and Super Bowl Sunday is no exception. Seven-layer dip and guacamole are two popular items people serve, and, of course, they’re both are made with avocados (although they’re obviously the most dominant ingredient in one).
In fact, avocados play such a major role in Super Bowl spreads that the California-based Hass Avocado Board predicts 153 million pounds worth of avocados will be eaten Sunday for Super Bowl LIV, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
The problem is that when people make these dishes, they tend to injure themselves while cutting or pitting avocados, leading to what is apparently called “avocado hand.” The boost in avocado consumption — thanks, millennials — has also led to an increase in hospital visits for avocado-related injuries, and those could spike around Super Bowl Sunday.
Researchers at Emory University, who examined the avocado-hand phenomenon in a study published last year, called the rise in cases “an epidemic of hand injury.” They used data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, which collects information on injuries related to consumer products.
The researchers estimate 50,413 avocado-related knife injuries occurred from 1998 to 2017, with more than half of them—27,059—happening since 2013. The study said it “likely underestimates the true national incidence of avocado-related knife injuries” because the data only looks at patients who go to the emergency room.
Now, there are a number of different ways to pit an avocado besides the blatantly dangerous method of digging the pit out with the tip of a sharp knife. You can dig the pit out with a spoon, remove the half of the avocado out of its skin with a spoon and then take out the pit or even buy a specific kitchen tool to make it work.
Well here’s one more, extremely simple option. A chef at a restaurant I worked at years ago taught me this easy trick that’s never failed, and — knock on wood — I’ve never injured my hand doing it.
Just follow these three steps:
1. Cut the avocado in half (duh).
2. Hack it (carefully)
With a sharp knife, gently hack the blade directly at the pit so it’s lodged in there.
3. Twist it
Once the blade is in the pit, rotate the knife in any direction, and easily pull the pit out.
Remember: Ripe avocados are the easiest to work with and often translate to the best tasting food. And a dull knife can be more dangerous than a sharp one.
Enjoy your avocado food on Super Bowl Sunday, and don’t cut your hand off!
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