The Easiest—and Safest—Way to Slice and Peel an Avocado

Whether you're perfecting youravocado toast game, makingguacamole, or adding slices to a salad, we're betting you go through yourfair share of avocadosat home. Which means you're no stranger to the threat ofavocado hand—injuries pertaining to the removal of that fickle pit. "‘Avocado Hand’ Is Real And It Can Land You In The Emergency Room," headlines read last March after an apparent uptick in avocado-related injuries.

Leave it toFood & WineCulinary Director Justin Chapple to come up with a solution that mitigates the risk of avocado prep, while also making it quicker to ready them for whatever dish you're making. Here's what you do:

Position the avocado on a work surface, and slice it on the diameter, turning as you go. Next, rotate the fruit (yes, fruit, and actually,it's a berry too, so enjoy that wild piece of information) 90 degrees, and make the exact same cut, turning the avocado as you slice it around the center.

The avocado naturally falls apart into even wedges at this point, and you can remove the pit with your hand—no knife required. You can also peel off the skin very easily now. It's without a doubt, the easiest and safest way to approach your avocado.

Chapple is, of course, full ofbrilliant tips and trickslike these. Particularly when it comes to avoiding injury in the kitchen, his Mad Genius mind really comes in... handy. This time of year, for one, you can find us using Chapple's trick forslicing watermelon without a knife(he uses dental floss and it's amazing). Mix that watermelon with your safely-procured avocado and some jalapeño salsa, and you've got one of the best F&W recipes you can make all summer:Grilled Watermelon with Avocado, Cucumber and Jalapeño Salsa. Now, thanks to this latest Mad Genius Tip, this dish isn't just one of our favorite summer recipes, it's also one of our safest.