Easy Guacamole Salad

If you’ve ever kept a bowl of guacamole in the refrigerator overnight, chances are that the exposed surface had oxidized, or turned brown. This is a chemical reaction that occurs when oxygen reacts with this delicious fruit. Not dangerous, but definitely not appealing!
There are a couple of ways to keep your avocados, or guacamole for that matter, from turning brown. First, prevent air from reaching the surface of the avocados. This can be as simple as pressing plastic wrap directly over the surface of your guacamole or salad. With a chunky salad, though, keeping out all the air can be difficult.
Another method is to paint a neutral oil, like olive oil, over the exposed surfaces to block oxygen from the fruit. But the technique I use most is to use citrus juice or a citrus-based salad dressing. The acidic pH of lemon or lime juice prevents the enzymatic reaction that causes the oxidation of apples, pears, and avocados. This will help minimize browning until the juice is totally absorbed, so great for the short term. Pro-Tip: Using Sprite or 7-Up as the acid on fruit like apples or bananas won’t give the tartness that fresh citrus juice imparts.

Place your avocado in a brown paper bag with fruit like a banana or an apple. The fruit will give off ethylene gas which helps hasten the ripening. The bag helps keep the gas contained.
Alternatively, keep your avocados in a warm spot in your kitchen to encourage ripening.
The folks at Real Simple tested ripening avocados in a bag of rice, which worked well. I prefer the brown paper bag for ease of checking on the progress.

Using a chef’s knife, insert and slice lengthwise going deep enough to hit the pit.
Carefully rotate the avocado until you’ve cut around the whole avocado using the hard pit as a landmark.
Twist the two halves apart. Next, use your knife to carefully whack the pit so the knife blade is wedged into the pit. Twist to remove the pit. PRO-Tip: place a hot pad on your palm to protect your hand from an accidental injury.
To cut into cubes, cut a crosshatch pattern into both halves without removing the peel, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Cut any longer pieces into cubes.
If you’d like to cut your avocado into slices, slice and remove the flesh with a spoon.
Alternatively, peel off the avocado peel carefully, then place the avocado on a cutting board, flat side down, and slice. If you want cubes, then continue by cutting the slices into cubes. This is the method I use most frequently.