Working with avocados the easy way

I love kitchen gadgets but every time I see the avocado cutter, I just cringe.  Avocados are so easy to handle, I can't conceive of buying a tool to deal with them. 

First, pick a ripe avocado you want to use.  It should be nicely colored like this one

Then slice it in half.  To remove the pit, tap the pit with a sharp knife, then twist the knife and the pit will twist right out.  Be careful.

If you want to remove the fruit from the shell in one piece, just take a soup spoon and run it between the skin and the avocado pulp.  It will come out in one piece.  Most of the time I want to either slice or dice it.  Hold the avocado in your hand and CAREFULLY slice one way, then crossways.  You will get a nice diced look.  You can also do this by placing the avocado on a table or cutting board if you prefer not to cut it while holding it.

 

Just take a soup spoon and run it between the skin and the avocado pulp.  It will come easily.

 

 

Now your avocado is ready to use in your favorite way.

Beware of canning tips on Pinterest and other internet blogs

I love to browse the internet and get ideas of some things to can.  Today I was looking for some berry jam recipes with alcohol. 

I found some great ideas on pinterest as well as other sites.  As I read some of the recipes, I found people stating that they do the 'French' canning method and 'easy' canning methods.  Being curious and always looking for an easier way to do things, I read their recommendations.  What they said was to put the lid on a hot jar and put the jar upside down.  Everyone said it's perfect because the jar always seals.

THIS IS NOT SAFE!!!  While the end result of canning is to have the jar seal, that does not deal with the main purpose of canning....to kill bacteria in the food that is being canned.  Without the jars being processed the appropriate way (water bath for high acid foods and pressure canning for low acid foods), pathogens may be in your nicely sealed jars. 

People love to say 'my grandma used to do it and we are still here'; however, food is grown differently now than it was when granny was young.  Processing methods have been updated to assure safety.

I always follow current safe canning practices and you should too.  A good canning book from Ball is a great place to start.  There are also wonderful places on the internet that are proven recipes and concepts.  Probably the best one in my opinion is National Center for Home Food Preservation (http://nchfp.uga.edu/).  They have tested information on lots of food and do's and don'ts for safe canning.

With canning season coming shortly, PLEASE do so safely.