Coat Summer Corn With Avocado Skins

There were a lot of backyard barbecues and grills in the park last weekend. While others focused on making flag cakes and connecting with family, I remained vigilant for cooking hacks. Before I knew it, I was eating some big junk. Whether you’re a vegan, dairy sensitive, or just happened to notice that someone left an avocado peel with a little bit of healthy green inside, you should “smear” the corn with the leftover avocado.

This is part of the Lifehacker Eating Trash With Claire series, where Claire Lower (and her friends) convinces you to turn kitchen waste into something edible and tasty.

I’ll be the first to crush a heavily oiled, over-salted corncob, but I hate to see unpeeled avocado halves with layers of ripe fruit left inside. A ripe avocado has something of a unicorn status, so if you’re going to eat it, take every last bite, dammit. I must say that there was no competition when I chose whether to butter my next cob or finish this avocado. I grabbed a mostly used trash avocado skin and smeared it on freshly cooked corn on the cob. (Sorry for the image on the side, but I misunderstood me and forgot to switch to “landscape”.)

The heat from the corn softened the saturated fat in the avocado, giving it the same texture as butter; the ridges between the corn grains caught the smears of the fruit, and I had a beautiful corncob with a green tinge. Like butter, the layer of avocado creates a sticky surface for salt to trap, but unlike melted fat, avocado doesn’t drip off hot corn. It stays put, has a rich and slightly vegetal flavor, and you can feel good without wasting an ounce of elemental guacamole.

This works best with an avocado cut in half or quarters, with the skin and pulp removed. Leftover avocados almost always end up where a spatula can’t reach. Take the skin, flip it upside down (which will also keep your fingers clean) and place it on top of the corn. Hold the callus firmly in one hand, and use the fingers of the other hand to press down on the skin until it comes into contact with the callus. As you do this, rotate and move the peel of the cob to cover all areas, while pressing on the peel of the avocado in different parts to get all the remaining fruits. Salt as usual.

This is a great butter replacement option, even if you don’t have an avocado skin. You can cut off a piece of avocado and run it over the corn, or just top with some guacamole if you have it on the table. Now get off and enjoy your summer unicorn.