Avocado tool

We don’t normally allow single-task gadgets into our kitchen, but there is one we do: an avocado knife. Now that avocados are available year-round, we grab this simple device to open, pit, and scoop out the creamy green. The Kuhn Rikon Avocado Knife has a flexible scalloped blade, with a blunt serration on one edge and two probes on the other. You use the safe edge to open the avocado, and the probes to stab the pit to remove it – but neither are sharp enough to cut your hand. The blade is non-stick coated, flexible, and curved enough to scoop out the meat in one stroke, and to spread if wanted.  The whole operation is done with one easy-to-clean hand tool.  In a Cool Tools podcast, Nathan Myhrvold, the gourmet nerd who owns every single esoteric and expensive culinary tool there is, told me that this $13 device was his favorite kitchen tool. — KK