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Avocado Origin, history,, recipes and uses
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Origin and History Avocado trees and are native to Mexico and South America and have been cultivated there for over 7,000 years. Indeed, the name is derived from the Aztec word ahuacatl which means "testicle" - a name given partly because of its shape and partly due to the ancient belief that the fruit has aphrodisiac and fertility generating properties. The
earliest known written reference to avocado in Europe dates back to 1519 in a
book by Martín Fernández de Enciso, a Spanish navigator and geographer. Other
early Spanish explorers discovered that theliquid excreted from the seed becomes
red when exposed to air could be used as ink and some documents written with
avocado ink still survive today.
Cultivation and Harvesting
Whilst there are over 500 varieties of avocado, they all stem from three ‘races’ - the Mexican, the Guatemalan and the West Indian - each with their own characteristics. The Mexican variety bear small, dark, smooth-skinned fruit; the Guatemalan has larger fruit with thick, rough skin; the West Indian bear large fruit with light green skins. Avocado trees cannot tolerate frost although although the Hass varieties can tolerate temperatures down to −1°C. In general, the trees require deep, well aerated soil and a mild climate. Because it takes 4–6 years for a plant propagated by seed to bear fruit plus the fact that the resulting plant will be unlikely to produce the same quality fruit as the parent plant, commercial orchards are created using grafted trees and rootstocks. Because avocado fruit can ripen off the tree (climacteric fruit) they can be picked when they are still hard and green and shipped under cool conditions, making them a perfect fruit for export. However, they must be mature when picked in order to ripen properly. Buying and Storing Avocados Avocado skin colour ranges from bright green to green-brown to almost black and from very smooth to quite knobbly and its flesh ranges from greenish yellow to golden yellow when ripe. They must be fully ripe before they can be used however, because of the harvesting process (see above), they are sometimes sold "unripe" in markets and stores, so if you need to use them straight away, you should be careful when selecting. To test for ripeness place the avocado gently in the palm of your hand and apply gentle pressure. A good specimen will yield slightly but still be quite firm. If pressing leaves a dent it means the fruit is very ripe and suitable for mashing. If bought when hard (unripe), avocados will usually ripen at room temperature within 2-3 days, although this can be speeded up by placing them in a paper bag with a banana. Once they are at the desired ripeness, they can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Avocado Nutritional Values and Culinary Uses A whole medium avocado contains approximately 21 grams of fat, though most of it is monounsaturated fat. Avocados a. Avocados are rich in B vitamins, vitamin E and vitamin K. They have the highest fibre content of all fruit and have 60% more potassium than bananas. They also have higher fat content than most other fruit though this shouldn't be of concern as it is mainly monounsaturated. If you've never dealt with a fresh avocado, there are a couple of things worth noting:- 1. The flesh can turn brown quite quickly after exposure to air but coating with lime or lemon juice once they are peeled prevents discolouration. 2. There is a very large stone in the centre of the fruit which is best removed before to process the flesh in whatever way is required. The best way to do this is to cut completely around the fruit lengthways, then holding both halves, twist in opposite directions. The seed will remain in one half. Then with the avocado on a flat surface , using a sharp knife, "chop" into the seed - the knife will stick in the seed. Twist the knife and the seed should come out (attached to the knife). Click here for a video on how to prepare fresh avocados. 3. Due it its richness, you should avoid serving it with heavy sauces or cream and try to use ingredients which will cut through and enhance the creaminess and flavour such as vinaigrettes. 4. Avocados are not sweet like most fruit and is generally not used in desserts but more often in savoury dishes. The hollow left
by the removal of the large seed is a natural receptacle for fillings from a
simple vinaigrette which can be served as a starter, to more substantial
ingredients such as chicken or seafood. Click here for lots of Avocado Pear Recipes
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Avocado
trees are evergreens and grow to 20 metres (65 ft). Although the flowers
are unremarkable and relatively small at 5–10 millimetres wide, they produce the
pear-shaped fruit which can grow to 20cm/8-inches long with weights up to
1kg/2.2lb which have a large central seed. Mature trees yield about
120 avocados every year. 
