Avoiding “Avocado Hand” Injury

“Joy Behar and former “Bachelorette” Andi Dorfman recently found out that “avocado hand” can be the pits.

Both sliced into their hands while trying to cut avocados with a knife. Both wound up in the hospital, felled by a kitchen accident that has become so common it has its own nickname.”

This excerpt is from Lisa Gutierrez (lgutierrez@kcstar.com).

For some reason, “avocado hand” seems to be the new plague of hand injuries.  However, this is more hype than truth.  As someone who still takes hand calls at the emergency room, I have not seen one instance of this type of injury.

Nevertheless, it does bring up an important point:  how to safely cut food, and especially vegetables.

I always cringe when I see my mother-in-law cut vegetables with gloves on and she is holding the vegetable and slicing with the knife coming towards her fingers!  This is a very common, yet potentially dangerous way of cutting anything.  Place the vegetable on a piece of cutting board and cut away!  If you must cut without a board, cut away from your fingers.

The best way to slice avocados is to place it on a cutting board and carefully divide it in half (long way) with a knife.  Use a small teaspoon to shell out the avocado.  The avocado can then be sliced on the cutting board.  Alternatively, one can also eat the avocado right from its skin with the spoon.  Just add lemon and salt!