The California avocado is a native American plant with a long, distinguished history. Today, the most popular of the seven most common varieties is the Hass.
Though the avocado (Persea Americana) originated in south-central Mexico, sometime between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C, it was several millennia before this wild variety was cultivated. Archaeologists in Peru have found domesticated avocado seeds buried with Incan mummies dating back to 750 B.C., and there is evidence that avocados were cultivated in Mexico as early as 500 B.C.
An Aztec Aphrodisiac
Called ahuacatl in the Aztec language, avocados were a favorite of the Aztecs, who considered them an aphrodisiac and, therefore, a forbidden fruit. Although its alluring shape certainly mimics the soft curves of a woman and its many nutrients might explain the avocado’s amorous reputation, science can neither confirm nor deny that the avocado is an aphrodisiac.
From Aguacate to Avocado
Spanish conquistadores loved the fruit but couldn’t pronounce it and changed the Aztec word to a more manageable aguacate, which eventually became avocado in English. The first English-language mention of avocado was by Sir Henry Sloane in 1696.
California’s Cash Crop
Fast forward to 1871, when Judge R.B. Ord of Santa Barbara successfully introduced avocados to the U.S. with trees from Mexico. By the early 1900s, growers were seeing the avocado’s commercial potential.
Today, California is the leading producer of domestic avocados and home to 95% of the nation’s crop. Most California avocados are harvested on 60,000 acres between San Luis Obispo and the Mexican border, by about 6,000 growers. San Diego County, which produces 40% of all California avocados, is the acknowledged avocado capital of the nation.
California avocados are grown year-round. A single California avocado tree can produce up to 60 pounds of fresh fruit each year, approximately 120 pieces.
Selecting Fresh Avocados
When selecting an avocado, look for the Fresh California Avocado brand; it’s your assurance that the fruit was grown under optimal conditions.
The best way to tell if a California avocado is ready for immediate use is to gently squeeze the fruit in the palm of your hand. Ripe, ready-to-eat fruit will be firm, yet will yield to gentle pressure.
Color alone may not tell the whole story. The Hass avocado will turn dark green or black as it ripens, but other varieties retain their light-green skin even when ripe.
If you plan to serve the fruit in a few days, stock up on hard, unripened fruit.
Avoid fruit with dark blemishes on the skin.
Ripening A California Avocado
To ripen a California avocado, place the fruit in a plain brown paper bag and store at room temperature until ready to eat (usually two to five days).
Including an apple or banana in the bag accelerates the process because these fruits give off ethylene gas, a ripening reagent.
Ripe fruit can be refrigerated until it is eaten, but not for more than two or three days.
The California Avocado Commission does not recommend using a microwave to accelerate the ripening process.
Handling California Avocados
As with any food preparation, begin by washing your hands in hot, soapy water and dry them with a clean paper towel.
To avoid cross-contamination from raw meat, poultry or eggs, always disinfect your cutting surfaces and utensils.
Thoroughly wash the fruit before you slice it.
Fun Facts
Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable, belonging to the genus Persea and the Lauraceae family.
Avocados are a healthy food with 60 percent more potassium than bananas.
Avocados are sodium- and cholesterol-free and have only five grams of fat per serving, most of it the good-for-you monounsaturated kind.
Science can neither deny nor confirm the avocado’s reputation as an aphrodisiac.
Avocados were once a luxury food reserved for the tables of royalty, but now California avocados are enjoyed around the world by people from all walks of life.
Brazilians add avocados to ice cream.
Filipinos puree avocados with sugar and milk for a dessert drink.
Latin Americans wrap avocados up and give them as wedding gifts.
The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and green skin.
Avocado is a corruption of the Spanish word aguacate, which is in turn a corruption of the Aztec word ahuacatl.
California produces 95% of the nation’s avocado crop.
San Diego County is the Avocado Capital of the U.S., producing 60% of all the avocados grown in California.
There are about 6,000 avocado groves in California; the average size is 10 acres.
A single California avocado tree can produce about 120 avocados (or 60 pounds of fruit) a year.
There are seven varieties of avocados grown commercially in California, but the Hass is the most popular, accounting for approximately 80% of the total crop volume.
California avocados grow year-round.
About 43.6% of all U.S. households buy avocados.
Source: Avocado.org