Did you know...

Believe it or not, avocados are in season in winter and widely available in markets. If you're not familiar with avocados, you and your pet are missing a rich treat!

Avocados are used not only in salads and the ever-popular guacamole, but also in breads, desserts, main dishes and non-culinary creams for facials, body massages and PET FOOD.

The avocado is widely considered a vegetable, since it is commonly used in salads. However, it is actually a fruit that tastes like a vegetable, and most markets display it with other typical fruits. In some areas, it is known as the avocado pear  and also the alligator pear due to the pebbly, rough exterior of one of the common types. There are quite a few varieties of avocados, but most cooks develop a preference for a particular breed. The fruit is harvested from tall trees, which grow in groves. The rich, pale yellow-green flesh of the pear-shaped fruit has a texture likened to a firm ripe banana, smooth and buttery, with a faintly nutty flavor. Most are grown in tropical climates, primarily in Mexico, California, Hawaii, and Florida.

Avocado Varieties

The fruit is primarily pear-shaped, but some varieties are also almost round. They can weigh from 1 ounce to up to 4 pounds each. Avocaditos are a cocktail-sized version of the avocado that are about the size of a small gherkin, weighing only about an ounce. The most common types are: Bacon, Fuerte, Gwen, Hass, Pinkerton, Reed, and Zutano, with many chefs having a particular preference for the Hass variety. (These links provide a description and representative pictures to help you distinguish them in the market.) Although the prime season for avocados is late winter/early spring, they are readily available in markets year-round.   And now...

Avocado History

The avocado (Persea gratissima or P. americana) gets its name from the Latin American Nahuatl ahuacatl  meaning "testicle," referring to its shape. It was discovered in Mexico approximately 291 B.C. The Spanish brought it to the English. The more easily-pronouced "avocado" is attributed to Sir Henry Sloane in 1669.   The word itself first appeared in print in the 17th century, and then in America in 1697. The early Spanish explorers discovered the Aztecs enjoying avocados, but it was long considered a tasteless food. The Aztecs also used avocados as a sexual stimulant. The first Florida crops are credited to horticulturist Henry Perrine who planted groves in 1833. Avocados did not become a commercial crop until the early 1900s. Still, except in California, Florida and Hawaii where they were grown, most consumers shied away from the fruit. Finally, in the 1950s it became popular as a salad item, and consumption became more widespread. In 1995, 40.9% of American households consumed avocados.