It has become a favorite among the exotic on the fruit and vegetable shelf, but before you eat an avocado, you are making a crucial mistake.
Munich - Before you enjoy a delicious avocado, you should always make sure that the fruit has been washed well . This is often neglected because the bowl is not eaten.
But if you cut an avocado with a knife, you inadvertently distribute chemicals , bacteria and pesticides inside the fruit, as the University of Nebraska-Lincoln explains.
Avocados offer a lot of space for pathogens
You have to be particularly careful with avocados, because the uneven and jagged skin is the perfect space for these harmful substances and pathogens. The bacteria and toxins get into the pulp with the knife you use to cut them open.
A recall from the "Henry Avocado Corporation" shows how dangerous this can be. The avocado producer recalled avocados grown in California in the United States. Dangerous listeria were found in these during an official routine investigation . These bacteria are particularly critical for children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system. They can cause high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms in the risk groups.
How to tell if an avocado is really ripe
So the avocado is 100% germ-free
Basically, it is enough to rinse the avocado under cold to lukewarm water and rub the peel thoroughly. If you want to enjoy your avocado completely germ-free, you should mix water with a tablespoon of vinegar essence and a little lemon juice in a spray bottle and sprinkle the fruit with it. After ten minutes of exposure, the avocado is washed off again and you are ready to eat your meal.
Video: Avocado cooking tips
Can you eat the avocado core?
On the internet you can always read that the avocado core should be particularly healthy . To make it edible, it should be dried, then pulverized in a blender and finally sprinkled on the food as a superfood powder. However, in addition to amino acids, vitamins, minerals and trace elements, there are also toxins in the core .
Studies on the health value of the avocado core have so far not provided any reliable results. On the contrary: The California Avocado Commission advises against eating avocado kernels on its official website: "The core of an avocado contains substances that are not suitable for human consumption."
Also interesting: do you have an unripe avocado in the fridge? With this trick you can get them into an edible state in ten minutes.
By Franziska Kaindl and Anne Tessin
Pattern: How to solve the avocado core
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