A method and an apparatus for processing ripe avocados in which the pulp is separated from the outer skin and from the seed in sequenced operations. The pulp can then be reduced to a paste-like product and frozen for easy preservation, handling and marketing. The avocado pulp does not acquire its consistency and reach its oil content until the fruit has ripened to a stage where the pulp is soft. At this stage, a few days are available to process the avocado before it spoils. The ripening process occurs naturally after the fruit has been picked off the tree, providing it is left undisturbed with the seed and the skin untouched. Otherwise, no ripening takes place. Because the external surface of a ripe avocado is so soft and because its seed is so hard, the extraction of the edible and tasty pulp is difficult to perform with automatically operating machinery. Such machinery and the attendant method are the subject of the present disclosure. The ripe avocado is firmly held by means of its seed while the skin and the pulp are removed automatically.
