First, there is more than one type of avocado in this world and secondly, there is more ways to eat an avocado than just slicing them thru the equator.
Photo Courtesy of Sweet Journey of Inspiration
The majority of the avocados available in Puerto Rico are Fuertes. The Haas avocado you see a lot in the US is what’s used mostly in Mexican cooking. Apparently they’re plenty available in California. But in Miami and Puerto Rico the avocado of choice is the Fuerte – to my taste, they’re more buttery and yellowy inside than those Haas folks. To me Hass are watery tasting…
Fuertes are also larger than the Haas, so when we eat avocados in my house, usually we do not eat a whole avocado in one sitting, so we slice the avocado in Rajas, or wedges/slices. That’s the typical way to cut into an avocado here in Puerto Rico. So I will show you how…
No special technique here… using a sharp knife cut a wedge out of the avocado… cut from top to bottom and pry away that first slice/wedge.
After that, just keep on going slicing away the “rajas”. Place them on a plate for people to take from there and serve them onto their plates. Always try to keep the pit with the unsliced avocado to prevent it from browning.
To store your uncut avocado, just cover with a paper towel or plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. If the edges turn a bit brown, just slice them off and continue cutting wedges until you finish your avocado.
Here, a few wedges of avocado is considered a nice and appropriate side dish, for many dishes – pigeon peas asopao, sancocho, arroz con maiz (rice and corn), etc., especially when they’re in season.
KarmaFree Cooking 
To prevent it from going black I put a thin layer of olive oil (VERY little) around the exposed ages and it doesn’t blacken.
My question though is, how do you know when the Fuertes avocados are ready? I know how to tell with the hass but it fails miserably with the fuertes. By the time I think they are ready they are actually rotten. ewww.
Tuttie – You need to feel the avocados from the bottom. When they’re somewhat softened, but not mushy… but just like any produce, it’s kind of like playing the lotto. SOmetimes you win, sometimes you don’t. And when they’re done/mature/ripe and you can’t eat them immediately, put them in the fridge right away to keep them from ripening any further. This will buy you a few extra days…
oops. *EDGES
My mom recently learned a new trick for telling when Fuertes avocados are ready… as soon as the ‘neck’ feels soft (even though the middle may still be firm), they are ready. If the middle already feels soft, chances are they might be goners, especially with the summer heat. As soon as I feel the top part soften I stick them in the fridge.
I know exactly what you mean about the “watery” taste of the Haas. I over-indulge in aguacate every time I go back to PR just because I miss the buttery-ness (if that’s a word).
Thanks for the memories!