How to Pit an Avocado

Easter 2026. And the table holds twenty-one people and a baby who is eating mashed banana with a determination that suggests he has been training for this meal his entire five and a half months of life. Michael Devon Brooks has discovered food. Real food. Not rice cereal — FOOD. Sweet potato, banana, avocado, and — in a moment of grandmother authority that Kayla pretended to disapprove of — a taste of mashed collard greens that I put on his spoon when no one was watching. He ate the greens. He made a face. He ate more greens. Henderson blood runs true.

The Easter ham was beautiful — honey-glazed, studded with cloves, the same recipe I've made for forty years. The diabetes modifications continue: less sugar in the glaze, smaller portions for me, a side salad that nobody asked for but that I ate because Kayla was watching and Kayla's watching face is identical to the face I used on the Hodge Elementary children who didn't want vegetables. That face is genetic. That face is a weapon. I taught it to her and she is using it against me and I am simultaneously furious and proud.

Amara was here — Marcus drove her down from Atlanta again for spring break. She is seven and a half now and she has graduated from "help in the kitchen" to "opinions about the kitchen." She told me my cornbread needed more sugar. I said, "Amara Nicole Henderson, cornbread does not need sugar. Cornbread is perfect. Sugar goes in cake. This is not a discussion." She said, "Granny Dot, my friend's mom puts sugar in her cornbread." I said, "Your friend's mom is wrong." She looked at me with Earl's eyes — those steady, challenging, wait-till-you-see eyes — and she said, "Can I at least try it with sugar?" I said, "You may try it at your friend's house. In this kitchen, we follow the law."

The law is: cornbread has no sugar. The law was written by Hattie Pearl. The law is carved into the seasoning of the cast iron skillet. The law is eternal.

Made deviled eggs. Twenty-eight this year. Amara ate five. She has surpassed her own record. I am raising an egg champion.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Michael Devon Brooks ate avocado at that Easter table — mashed smooth, a little pinch of nothing on it — and he went back for more like he’d been waiting on it his whole five and a half months. That got me thinking about how many people are scared of avocado because they don’t know how to handle one without making a mess or cutting themselves, and if a baby can embrace it fearlessly, the rest of us have no excuse. This is the method I use: clean, safe, no drama — just like the law on cornbread.

Prep Time: 2 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 2 minutes | Servings: 1 avocado

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1 sharp chef’s knife
1 sturdy cutting board
1 spoon (large, for scooping)

Instructions

Check for ripeness. Gently press the skin near the stem end. A ripe avocado yields slightly to firm pressure — it should not feel mushy or rock-hard. If the small stem cap pops off easily and the flesh beneath is green, it is ready.
Slice lengthwise. Place the avocado on the cutting board. Hold it steady with one hand and run your knife all the way around the pit lengthwise, from stem to base and back up. Keep the blade against the pit as you cut.
Twist to open. Grip each half and twist in opposite directions. The two halves will separate cleanly. The pit will remain in one half.
Remove the pit safely. Do NOT use the knife-slam method — that is how people end up in the emergency room. Instead, hold the half in one hand over the cutting board and use a large spoon to scoop the pit out firmly from beneath. It releases cleanly with a little pressure.
Scoop the flesh. Run your spoon around the inside edge of each half, close to the skin, and lift the flesh out whole. For mashing or slicing, proceed as needed for your recipe.
Use immediately or store. Avocado flesh browns quickly once exposed to air. If not using right away, leave it in the skin, press plastic wrap directly against the cut surface, and refrigerate. A squeeze of lemon or lime juice also slows browning.

Nutrition (per serving)

How to Pit an Avocado — The Baby Who Ate His Greens and Changed Everything