Avocado. Composition and presence of nutrients

The Hass avocado tree (Persea americana "Hass") grows fruits with bumpy skin purple. IN vivo in well-drained soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5, the tree grows up to 18 meters tall. It is covered with dark green, shiny leaves and small greenish flowers. With regular pruning, the tree can also be grown in a container, but in this case there will be less fruit. Avocado Hass tolerates temperatures down to -2 degrees Celsius. Grow a tree from a grafted seedling, not from a seed - this way you will maintain the characteristics of the variety and get fruit in three years.

Buy a grafted Hass avocado seedling from a nursery. Carefully inspect the seedling! It should have glossy, dark green leaves and no damage or signs of insect infestation - cobwebs or discoloration.

Choose a large wooden or clay pot 60 centimeters wide and 45 centimeters deep with drainage holes and place it in a sunny location. Partially fill the pot with potting mix and plant the Hass avocado seedling to the same depth it was originally planted. Cover the roots with potting mix and water well until water starts to run out of the drainage holes.

Water the Hass avocado lightly when the surface of the soil feels dry to the touch. Avoid over watering, which can cause root rot. Fertilize with 1/4 teaspoon of a balanced fertilizer every three months after the first year of growth.

Check the leaves for tip scorch, and the soil and pot for white bloom, which indicates excess salt buildup. Wash the salts out of the soil - water the soil thoroughly so that water flows through the drain hole for several minutes.

Inspect Hass avocado leaves regularly for purplish or brown discoloration, which is a symptom of a spider mite infestation. It is necessary to provide the tree with proper growing conditions and allow predatory mites, ladybugs and other natural predators to control the tick population. Treat heavily infested plants with horticultural oil.

Check the Hass avocado tree for yellow or fallen leaves. This may be a symptom of phytophthora - root rot. Let waterlogged soil dry out before watering a plant that has symptoms of root rot.

You can harvest the first Hass avocado crop three years after planting and 12-18 months after flowering. Wait for the skin of the fruit to turn purple, but don't wait for the fruit to ripen right on the tree. If the fruit remains on the tree, it will grow larger but not ripe.

Prune the top branches after harvest only if necessary to maintain the desired height. Remove dead branches as the Hass avocado tree will try to outgrow its limited root system.

As long as you regularly and properly water and fertilize these trees, they are easy to grow and fun to harvest.

For good growth Hass avocados need a sunny location and land with good drainage. It is better to plant a young tree than a stone, as you will have to wait at least five years for the first harvest - and even then, a stone-grown avocado may not satisfy you with its taste. In addition, a young tree requires less maintenance.

During dry spells, keep the soil moist but not wet. In winter, you can reduce watering.

If you are growing avocados in open field add a 10-25 cm layer of mulch around the tree once or twice a year. This helps the soil retain moisture, which is especially helpful during hot weather. Organic compost also adds essential nutrients into the soil, which can directly affect fruit quality.

Feed Hass avocados with a nitrogen-rich fertilizer in the fall or winter. Manure or blood meal is rich in nitrogen.

By pruning an avocado tree when fruit is present or immediately after harvest, you will insure yourself against accidentally cutting off the next season's fruitful branch. Remove dry branches that can be disease carriers.

You will need

organic compost
Fertilizer with nitrogen content

Advice

Do a soil test about once a year to check for nutrient deficiencies such as iron and zinc. Adjust the nutrient composition of the soil with fertilizers.

The most nutritious fruit in the world looks very appetizing in the photos of Amsterdam-based blogger Collet Dyck. Her Instagram is called @fooddeco.

1. Avocado has many names: crocodile (alligator) pear, poor man's cow, midshipman's oil.

2. Avocado has been known since very ancient times. More recently, in mummy tombs dating back to 750 BC. Avocado pits have been found. This means that even then this amazing fruit was not only known, but also loved. Rock paintings of avocados, which are over 12,000 years old, have also been found.

3. This is actually amazing: it turns out that the avocado is not a vegetable at all, but a fruit, as it grows on a tree, and the fruits of trees are fruits.

4. It seems to us that avocados always look the same. In fact, there are about a hundred varieties of avocados. They differ from each other in size (from 100 grams to 2 kg), shape (round, oval, pear-shaped), color (from dark green to dark purple), taste and fat content.

5. Avocado belongs to the bay leaf family, that is, it is a direct relative of the bay leaf we are used to.

6. Avocado seed, like its leaves, bark, peel contains toxic substances, so you can’t eat them - you can get very poisoned.

7. In stores, avocados are sold hard, unripe. It is best to let the avocado ripen in a simple way: you need to wrap the fruit in paper bag and put for a couple of days in a dark place with room temperature. Some advise putting an avocado along with an apple or banana in plastic bag- but here the trick with ripening does not always work out. This is due to errors in transportation: avocados that have rotted from the inside will never, under any circumstances, be able to ripen.

8. An allergic reaction can develop on avocados. Those who are allergic to latex or citrus fruits are especially susceptible to it.

9. The name "avocado" was given to this fruit by the Spaniards, who were the first Europeans to try it.

10. Avocados were first tamed by the ancient Aztecs, who considered this fruit a symbol of love and fertility: the fact is that the avocado tree cannot self-pollinate, it needs a pair that will grow nearby. The first evidence of eating avocados dates back to 8000 BC.

11. The most common avocado variety is called Hass, and is named after the American postman Rudolf Hass, who discovered the avocado tree with a very delicious fruits in his yard and patented it in 1935. All Hass avocado trees come from that same tree, and it still bears fruit today.

12. The easiest way to quickly extract the pulp of an avocado is to cut it into two longitudinal halves, shift one relative to the other to separate them, stick a knife into the stone and turn it to remove it. The flesh can then be scooped out with a spoon, and if your avocado isn't that soft, it's best to peel it before you cut it.

Read on Zozhnik:

Avocados are bought mainly by those who have refused animal products. Many traditionally eating people have heard of this wonderful fruit, but have not tried or eaten the “wrong” avocado, and therefore speak of it as a rare muck.

Indeed, my personal observations have shown that the attitude towards this product twofold - he is either adored and praised, as I am, or treated with disgust. I just want to say to those who offend avocados: "You just don't know how to cook it!"(Like the old cat ad, remember?).

Or rather, to begin with, you just need to learn how to find good fruit. After all, the “correctly” chosen avocado is something! I discovered it for myself just in the period of my vegetarianism. And how many times it, so satisfying, rescued me and my son!

I have tried many dishes with this product and I can say with confidence that it is necessary in the diet of any person. And especially the one who wants to please his taste buds without damage to health.

I propose to sort everything out in order. In this article of mine, I will be happy to tell you about one of my favorite delicacies, how to choose an avocado and what kind of thing you can create from it.

Avocado alkalizes your body as it has an acidic pH of 6.3-6.6.

Perhaps, dear reader, you still don't know what I'm talking about. If you have not met with avocado in real life, then know that this is an evergreen plant that produces amazing fruits.

It belongs to the genus "Perseus" and, by the way, is its most famous representative. Hence, by the way, the second name of the avocado is “American Perseus”. The rest of his fellows are not so widespread and grow, as a rule, in the tropical corners of America.

Did you know that the product we are interested in and (yes, the very ones that we put into soups and stews for smell from generation to generation!) are relatives? They belong to the same family, which is called "Laurel".

Archaeologists have established that avocados were known to people as early as the 3rd millennium BC. under the Aztec name "Ahuacatl", which literally translates as "forest oil".

Mexico is rightfully considered the birthplace of the fruit - the record holder for the number of wild-growing varieties of avocados, although today it is cultivated in those countries that have subtropical and tropical zones - Israel, the United States of America, Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Indonesia, Spain, China, Dominican Republic, Australia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and others.

These lucky ones harvest from 150 to 200 kg of avocados from one tree every time. Can you imagine how lucky they are? 🙂 Although the Russian subtropics are also suitable. Interested in growing avocados in your yard? - Try to settle on the Black Sea coast.

Avocados grow on trees that reach a maximum height of 20 meters. Keep this in mind if you decide to grow a tree from a stone for yourself - prepare a wider and taller pot, as it grows quickly.

It is for this reason that cultivated tree species are often pruned so that they are no more than 5-6 meters. So, of course, it is more convenient to collect fruits. And wild-growing avocados, as a rule, are distinguished by high growth.

The leaves of the elliptical plant look very pretty - so big, shiny, fleshy. They do not turn yellow (well, except perhaps in the case when you grew your tree and stopped caring for it!), But all year round are replaced by new ones. The appearance of fruits is anticipated by flowers, but they are not particularly beautiful - small and greenish. Not much to see!

But how beautiful a tree becomes when avocado fruits appear on it - green "bombs" pear-shaped, round or elliptical, depending on the variety! They can be both small - weighing from 50 grams and a length of 5 cm, or huge - reaching 20 cm in length and almost 2 kg in weight.

By the way, avocados are single-seeded drupes, not vegetables or fruits, as most of us think. Well, it's scientific 🙂

By the way, chemical composition, taste and appearance it has more "vegetable". But we are not botanists, and therefore for us avocado is still a fruit (or even a vegetable?).

Even when an avocado ripens, it stays green (except for purple-skinned varieties), just darkens and becomes soft. An overripe fruit begins to turn black, so it is important to have time to buy it before these dark spots appear on the skin.

Interestingly, the avocado is also called the "alligator pear" ("crocodile pear") - apparently, for the striking similarity of its skin with the skin of an alligator, and the shape of the fruit - with the mentioned fruit.

However, not all “avocadins” are pimply; representatives of the species that are smooth to the touch are also found in nature. In my opinion, round fruits with a shiny glossy skin - the most delicious.

When you peel off this thin but very tough skin, you find there a fragrant, oily greenish or yellowish flesh that surrounds a large ovoid stone and turns black very quickly in the air.

I love the taste of avocado!

Oh, I can talk about this for a long time! Taste ripe avocado, especially the one that is round and smooth-skinned, reminds me of several of my favorite treats at once. It has a creamy buttery pulp with herbal taste and nutty notes.

Do you like it? I really do! 🙂 A sort of homemade butter with finely chopped greens and chopped pine nuts.

If you've cut out dairy but miss the "creamy" feeling in your mouth, avocados are here to help.

It's interesting that different varieties avocados and even different fruits of the same variety have completely individual tastes. So, some may remind you of cream, others - mashed potatoes with chopped herbs, the third - mushrooms, and the fourth - processed cheese.

There are also unique ones that taste like sardines. Agree, a real find for vegans and raw foodists who miss harmful products with their addictive flavors!

There are two ways to eat this fruit in its original form:

The peel is removed from the whole fruit - it is most convenient to do this with a knife, but you can also use your hands. Then it is cut into two parts, the stone is pulled out, and you have two delicious soft avocado halves in your hands. If you want - cut into pieces, but if you want - bite off pieces and savor!
The fruit is immediately cut into two parts, the bone is removed, and the pulp itself is scooped out of the halves with a teaspoon. Very intelligent.

In my opinion this better ways the use of avocados - in its original form. But to this fruit various ingredients are often added, and based on it, light, satisfying, easy-to-cook dishes are obtained.

Do you add avocados to your salads?

It is better not to subject these fruits to heat treatment, because then they lose their incredible oiliness and creamy taste. If you decide to boil or fry an avocado (honestly, it never even occurred to me, although the Mexicans seem to do this!), Then be prepared for the fact that it will change its delicate texture and be bitter.

If you want to diversify the taste of the fruit a little, it is better to cut it in half, as indicated in the second method above, salt a little, sprinkle with your favorite vegetable oil and eat. This is what culinary websites advise, and I once tried eating avocados this way, but, in my opinion, it turns out “butter oil”. Solo is much better!

It is better to cook from these fruits the famous mexican sauce guacamole, which in its classic version includes, in addition to avocado, juice or, so that the pulp of the fruit does not darken so quickly, greens and.

I made the indicated dish with garlic, and with ginger, and with various spices, and with, and with, and with, and with. All guacamole sauces are delicious. Experiment on your health! And do not forget to spread them on bread, preferably raw, or directly on vegetables.

The Taiwanese make mashed avocados with a consistency similar to drinking yogurt. I don’t know how exactly the process of turning the pulp into a liquid substance takes place, but I think one day it’s worth trying to do it for the sake of experiment! If you succeed, please share the recipe. 😉

Brazilians and Vietnamese people add avocados to milkshakes. Indonesians and Filipinos do not lag behind them, who also do god knows what with fruits of interest to us - they mix with milk to make a dessert. In my opinion, these products are not very compatible, but they know better!

It is much healthier to add avocados to raw and vegan lactose-free desserts.

Avocado sauce can also be prepared for a sweet dish, for example, for fruit salad With , . With it, you can even create delicious ice cream that does not differ in taste from the classic milk ice cream, but is healthy and ethical.

Avocado fits very well in Olivier without animal products (there it perfectly replaces eggs), in salads with an abundance of greens, in vegetarian rolls. These fruits go well with tomatoes, paprika, young green peas, cauliflower and seaweed.

If you're making this salad for guests, drizzle the avocado flesh with lemon juice to slow down the browning process.

Avocado is very good on the face.

Avocado - universal product, which can be used not only for food, but also for maintaining beauty. People have known about this for a long time, and therefore they are actively using it in cosmetology. It is squeezed from the ripe pulp, which is then cleaned of impurities using a centrifuge.

Based on avocado oil, which contains fatty acid(oleic, palmitic, linoleic and others), produce cosmetics to restore, nourish and protect the skin, as well as products, including pharmaceuticals, for the treatment of acne and seborrhea.

Not only fruits are useful in the economy this plant but also its wood. In countries where avocados are cultivated, furniture is made from this tree, and houses are built and finished with it.

Attention! The peel, leaves and pit of the fruit should not be used for food or for other purposes, as they are toxic.

The listed parts of the plant contain persin, a fungicidal toxin that can cause allergic reactions, edema, worsening of digestion, interruptions in the work of the heart and respiratory system. They are especially dangerous for birds and animals - in some cases, poisoning threatens to be fatal.

Although, of course, you can indulge and plant an avocado seed at home or in your garden. To do this, you need to pierce it with toothpicks crosswise, place the lower part in water and wait until it gives roots. Then you can safely transplant your sprout into a flower pot and wait for stormy shoots.

This is how an avocado grows.

There are a great many varieties of avocados in the world, so you can include it in your diet throughout the year. I think you noticed that in supermarkets it is sold every day almost without interruption?

All miraculous properties the fruits that I wrote about above (“creamy”, “nutty”, “herbaceous”, “oily”) refer to their ripe representatives, to their pulp.

Yes, an avocado is precisely the pulp, and not the solid substance that usually lies on the shelves of stores in countries where it does not grow.

Of course, the fruits are plucked green in order to bring them to us in a decent form. And our task is to learn how to choose them.

If you do not need an avocado very urgently, and you are able to endure a few days, it is better to take a firm green fruit without dark spots and let it lie at home for a while at room temperature. It will ripen - it will become soft and surprisingly tasty.

To speed up the ripening process, place an avocado in a paper bag along with or bananas - this is such an unusual ritual. They seem to have more fun together. 🙂

How do you know when an avocado is ready to eat? Put your finger on it. If the pulp gives in, and a dent remains under the finger, then it's time to taste the overseas fruit. In this form, he can lie down in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Just keep in mind that it is better to eat a peeled and cut avocado "in hot pursuit", otherwise you will get an unpleasant dark-colored pulp.

If on the peel have already appeared dark spots, and under the pressure of your hands, it breaks, which means that you overexposed the avocado - it is overripe or spoiled. Start from the beginning - go to the supermarket and choose a new fruit!

Do you know why most of my friends did not like this product? They bought hard fruits and immediately began to eat them. In this state, the avocado is more like soap - tasteless, unpleasantly hard, and even with bitterness. What kind of tenderness and "creaminess" in this case can we talk about?

I always tried to rehabilitate the avocado in the eyes of my friends and treated them to guacamole, veggie Olivier, ice cream based on it. Naturally, they changed their minds, and some even, like me, began to become a fan of this fruit!

I have already mentioned that this plant can be both wild and cultivated. It is of three types:

West Indian The (Antillean) type of avocado is capricious, and therefore it can only be grown in a hot tropical climate.
Guatemalan view- large thick-skinned fruits that are not as fastidious as their West Indian relatives, but not particularly hardy.
mexican avocados less susceptible to frost, although they have a thin skin, which is their distinguishing feature.

Currently, there are a great many varieties of avocados. Let's take a closer look at the most popular of them:

Variety "Fuerte" (Fuerte)

These are pear-shaped fruits with smooth, thin green skin that ripen in summer and early autumn. Their flesh is oily and white. The weight of Fuerte avocados ranges from 140 to 400 grams, but most often it is 200-250 g. They are usually brought from Israel, Peru and South Africa, although Mexico is the birthplace of this variety.

Variety "Zutano" (Zutano)

Sings all year round. These are pear-shaped green fruits with smooth skin and white with a yellow tint pulp, the weight of which varies from 170 to 400 grams. The homeland of growth is America, although the most delicious Zutano grow in South Africa.

Variety "Ryan" (Ryan)

You can meet it on the shelves throughout the autumn, as these fruits ripen from the end of September until almost December. In appearance, the avocados of this variety are pear-shaped, dark green with a smooth, but not too glossy skin, and inside there is yellow or even bright yellow flesh, which is not creamy, but rather resembles the taste of mushrooms with greens. Ryan - large guys weighing an average of 300-400 with a heavy bone, are grown in South Africa.

Variety "Pinkerton" (Pinkerton)

Fruits of this variety- a real find for avocado lovers, as they have a decent weight (up to 500 grams) and at the same time a small bone, perhaps the smallest of all varieties. Agree, because this is a pleasant fact - there is more pulp! Look in stores throughout the year for pear-shaped green fruits with a thick, pimply crocodile-like skin and enjoy their incredible taste.

Sort "Hass" (Hass)

These oval "avocados" differ from their counterparts in a dark purple skin, even closer to black. Hass fruit pulp is white with greenish and yellowish stains. They don't differ large sizes and weigh from 140 to 350 grams. This California variety can be found on sale all year round. Hass got its name from the name of an ordinary American postman who discovered a tree with delicate tasty fruits in his own yard (people live!). An enterprising postal worker patented the found variety, which immortalized his name. And it happened in the 30s of the last century.

List of some other avocado varieties:

show all

Avocados can also make healthy green smoothies!

In this part of the avocado article, I will be happy to tell you about it. useful properties, and also mention in which cases you need to be careful with these fruits.

The benefits of avocado

I experienced the value of avocados when I was a raw foodist. I then experimented with nutrition, tried to eat less, did not drink water, in order to save money, I preferred vegetables without oil, and my skin began to dry catastrophically.

Fortunately, at the same time, a batch of fresh avocados Now I can't tell what kind it was. I began to regularly eat one piece a day, and my skin condition improved noticeably.

Above, I already mentioned that various products are made on the basis of avocado oil. cosmetical tools to protect and restore the skin.

What else is this exotic fruit useful for?

Improves brain function due to polyunsaturated fatty acids, has a positive effect on memory.
The same acids that are balanced by nature itself have a beneficial effect on the state of the heart and blood vessels, and are also the prevention of atherosclerosis and metabolic disorders in which cholesterol is involved.
avocado regulates water-salt balance body, increases its resistance to stress and is the prevention of urolithiasis.
Improves the processes of blood circulation and hematopoiesis due to the constituents of the fruit, as well as copper and.
Reduces elevated arterial pressure Therefore, it is indicated for use by hypertensive patients.
Normalizes the functioning of the digestive system and relieves constipation.
It has strong antioxidant properties and protects our cells from the harmful effects of free radicals.
It is practically devoid of sugars, which makes it a valuable product in the diet of diabetics.
Avocados are 7% fiber, and most of it, which is insoluble, helps to improve digestion, and the other - soluble - saturates us perfectly.
Avocado promotes the synthesis of female sex hormones. And this is not at all surprising - just look at its shape. What is the relationship? With its shape, the avocado fruit resembles the uterus, which means that it has a beneficial effect on this particular organ. The ancient Aztecs even called it the fruit of fertility.

I used to collect interesting parallels like this one. It turns out that nature does not in vain create such seemingly bizarre forms. Thus, she gives people a hint. So, for example, it resembles the brain, and the human eye. Do you catch a pattern? Interestingly, gentlemen, meat-eaters, do we have organs in our body that are shaped like a pig, shrimp or pike? 🙂

By the way, avocados are also shown for men to enhance the production of sex hormones.

Any vegetarian and raw foodist should include this valuable product in their diet, as it is a supplier of balanced polyunsaturated fatty acids. There is not too much protein in avocados, but it is easily digested, unlike an animal.

Harm avocado

Despite the fact that these fruits are indicated for women to conceive children, normalize the production of sex hormones, and also to improve the condition of the body during pregnancy, avocados should be eaten with caution by nursing mothers. Excessive use of it threatens with diarrhea for both the woman and the baby. The Spanish missionary historian wrote about this in his work “ General history Affairs of New Spain. This information is based on the testimony of the Aztecs.

The same book mentions that a crushed avocado pit mixed with soot can cure a person of dandruff and get rid of scabies. However, I wrote above about the toxicity of individual parts of the plant (including the seeds!), so you should be very careful with such recipes.

It is also not recommended to squeeze juice from avocados, as it is a breeding ground for Listeria Monocytogenes, a type of bacteria that causes an infectious disease accompanied by fever, nausea, and abdominal pain.

There is also an individual intolerance to the product, especially in those people who are allergic to citrus fruits and latex.

And, of course, avocados should be used with caution by those people who are trying to bring their weight back to normal. Despite the fact that the fatty acids in it are balanced, this fruit is still quite high in calories. Raw foodists gain weight very well on avocados - I know from my own experience!

The hero of my today's article in 1998 got on the pages of the famous Guinness Book of Records for being the most nutritious fruit of all that exist on the planet.
Aboriginal tribes know about the beneficial properties of avocados for conceiving children, and also that it is a powerful aphrodisiac, so young couples often give it as a wish to have many children.
The Aztecs also called the avocado the "testicle tree", apparently because it often grows in pairs. Here's an aphrodisiac for you!
Mexican avocado leaves smell very similar to the sweet and spicy spice anise.
To ripen, the avocado fruits themselves fall off the tree and reach “condition” already under it, unless, of course, they are picked up earlier.
There is a joke among vegetarians and raw foodists: “I will only speak in the presence of my avocado!”. Well, not a bad argument to avoid an argument with belligerent meat-eaters. 🙂

This is how it is - the many-sided avocado, which every time surprises me with its diverse tastes and beneficial properties. I have been in love with him for many years and often pamper myself and my children with this delicacy.

The older one, like me, fell in love with avocados right away, when we were still raw foodists with him. And the younger one did not appreciate it too much at first, but then he tasted it and now creates such a stir that the process of cleansing the fetus is accompanied every time almost by a battle for it. Therefore, I try to take each one a separate copy, and treat the baby out of turn!

Do you love avocados the way my children and I love them, or is there something in it that doesn’t suit you?

At the mention of avocado, guacamole sauce immediately comes to mind, which is served along with the famous mexican appetizer nachos. Really, tropical fruit best suited for the preparation of various sauces, but this is not all that he is capable of. It is often used as healthy snack to the main dishes due to the specific oily taste and high content nutrients. In today's article, you will learn about the beneficial properties of avocados, as well as what you should pay attention to when buying it.

High fat content without harm to health

Avocado is often mistaken for a vegetable, although it is actually a fruit that, like cinnamon, belongs to the bay family. Its fruits are almost a third fat, so in ancient times the Peruvian natives dubbed it "the oil of the forest." You can not worry about the calorie content of avocados: it contains only unsaturated fatty acids, which are easily digested and have a beneficial effect on the body. They also help lower bad cholesterol levels.

Avocado is rich in vitamins A, B, C and E, as well as minerals including potassium, calcium and iron. All of the above facts are a compelling reason to include the fruit in daily diet. Trust me, your body will thank you for it!

Avocado varieties

There are many varieties of avocados, differing in taste, firmness and appearance. The most famous are "fuerte" and "hass". Below are their main differences.

Avocado "hass"

Small oval fruit
Has a rich nutty flavor
It has a dense purple-black peel with an uneven texture.

Avocado "fuerte"

pear shaped fruit
Has a mild creamy taste
Has a smooth green skin

How to determine the ripeness of an avocado?

Anyone who has ever bought an avocado has probably wondered how to determine its ripeness. In fact, there is no single answer, because everything primarily depends on the variety. Consider, for example, "fuerte" and "hass".

If you decide to choose a Hass avocado, then when buying, pay attention to its color: when ripe, it changes from green to black. Ripe fruit should be firm and sag slightly when pressed. If the peel is wrinkled, then this is a sign that the fruit is already overripe.

Advice: don't buy hass black avocados because you won't be able to tell how long they've been stored after they've ripened. The fruit may be overripe.

Unlike Hass, you can easily tell if a Fuerte is ripe just by looking at it. Black spots on the surface of the fruit indicate that it is spoiled and not suitable for human consumption.

In addition to these varieties, you can also find other varieties of avocados available in Central Europe: "bacon", "ettinger", "pinkerton" and "reed".

Exists universal way determination of ripeness for little-known varieties. Take an avocado and press on its peel, if the fruit is slightly crushed, then it can be eaten. It is worth noting that in this case It makes no sense to judge freshness by color: both unripe and ripe fruits have a green skin.

Storage

If you bought an unripe avocado, store it at room temperature until it's ripe. Then place it in the refrigerator. At around 5°C, it will stay fresh for up to 12 days.

Remove the avocado from the refrigerator an hour before eating. So it will be easier to prepare it for cooking.

If you don't want to use whole fruit immediately, leave the stone in the second half of the cut fruit and sprinkle it a small amount lemon juice to avoid product spoilage. cover half cling film and immediately place it back in the refrigerator.

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Avocado pit - a storehouse of nutrients

Unfortunately, most people unfairly neglect avocado pits and throw them away at the cooking stage, although they are very nutritious and have many uses in cooking. I offer you a few ideas on how to use them.

Cut the avocado pit in two with a knife. Grind the slices in a blender or food processor. Add the resulting powder to muesli, salad or smoothie. Numerous nutrients, antioxidants and vitamins will help boost the immune system.
Grind the avocado pit and pour the finished powder hot water. The result is an amazing fat-burning tea. The active ingredients and amino acids contained in it will positive effect to stimulate metabolism.
Avocados can be used to make skin and hair care products. To do this, mix the powder from the crushed stone with water to a paste-like state. Then apply the paste directly to your hair or skin. Also you can add Coconut oil to make hair conditioner.

Different varieties of avocado. Photo www.gardenreboot.blogspot.com

For the first time an avocado under an official name persea americana was described by the botanist Philip Miller in 1768 in The Gardeners Dictionary.

There are three ecotypes or botanical subspecies of the avocado: P. americana var. Drymifolia (Mexican race), P. americana var. Americana (West Indian race) and P. americana var. Guatemalensis (Guatemalan race). Within these subspecies, it is currently known more than 500 varieties of avocados, the most popular ones are shown in the title picture.

International trade standards state that the 'Hass' avocado varieties account for the bulk of cultivation and sales, followed by 'Fuerte', 'Pinkerton', 'Reed' and only then other varieties.

Now the leader in the cultivation and sales of avocados is Mexico. It is followed (in decreasing order of exports): Indonesia, Dominican Republic, USA (mainly California, where avocados ripen all year round), Colombia, Peru, Kenya, Chile, Brazil, Rwanda, China, Guatemala, South Africa, Venezuela, Spain, Israel. These are the main "gardeners" and suppliers of avocados.

Avocado season on different continents: almost all year round, but the best fruits are still considered to be fruits that ripen only at a certain time - from about August to April.

"Avocado fruit must be firm at the time of sending. The degree of softening that makes fruit ready for consumption should only occur at the retail or consumer level." (International Standardization Of Fruit And Vegetables. Avocados - Avocats - Aguacates (Paltas)

Examples of the quality of avocado fruits prepared for the consumer: above - fruits of the "Extra" class, below on the left - fruits of the 1st class, on the right - fruits of the 2nd class. Photo from official document: International Standards for Fruits and Vegetables. Avocado / International Standardization Of Fruit And Vegetables. Avocados - Avocats - Aguacates (Paltas)

How to check the ripeness of an avocado. The average shopper likes to test avocados with the touch of a finger, but for thick-skinned varieties, this is not always acceptable. Experts check by tail, i.e. on the part of the stalk: light-dark, fresh-dried, fell off, did not fall off. In unripe fruits, the stalk is light and holds well (see previous photo). As it matures, it darkens, dries up and falls off.

With your index finger, lightly press on the stem. If resistance is felt or the stalk does not separate, the avocado is not fully ripe. If you pull a little on the stalk and it easily separates or the fruit remains slightly suspended on it, like on a tree, then the avocado is just right. If a dark spot is found under the stalk or it looks dry, brown, the avocado may be overripe.

Why it is NOT advisable to check if an avocado is ripe by pressing your finger: a "bruise" forms in this place, the flesh darkens, and then it can change the taste. Therefore, if you buy a soft avocado, cut it at home, and its flesh is already gray-brown-raspberry in some places, then this is not necessarily rotten: perhaps someone before you has already probed these fruits or they got bruised during transportation (sometimes , which fell off the shelf already in the store).

It is better to just take the fruit in your hand and, as it were, hard, but gently feel it. With such testing, softness or hardness is well felt.

Ripe fruit color may be dark green, pale green or black-purple: it depends on the variety and variety. Dark varieties such as "Hass" may be green when harvested and transported, but get their typical black color when ripe. For example:

Fruits of the "Hass" variety. Photo from official document: International Standards for Fruits and Vegetables. Avocado / International Standardization Of Fruit And Vegetables. Avocados - Avocats - Aguacates (Paltas)

If the avocado is not supposed to be eaten on the day of purchase, then you can take hard fruits. Avocados come to perfection at room temperature. Usually it takes 3-5 days. You can place it next to apples or bananas: they release special substances that contribute to the ripening of other fruits. If you need to keep the avocado longer, then you can leave it in the refrigerator (including in freezer) or pickle its pulp.

Avocados do not ripen in the freezer, but are only stored. In a conventional refrigerator, avocados can become soft, but this process is slower than at room temperature. There is one "but": the cold, as it were, grabs the fruit, so it is not always possible to accurately determine whether the avocado has become usable or not. I always ripen avocados at room temperature.

An unripe avocado is not only not to be eaten, but also harmful to the body! No need to try to saw it and tear it off the bone :) If the fruit is hard, then it’s better to lie down for a while and ripen. In a ripe avocado, the pulp itself separates from the stone, and the peel is easily removed (see photo below).

Some consumers also ripen unripe avocados that have been cut or cut in half. They saw that it was immature, put the two halves together again and tightly wrapped in a film. They say that this is how the fruit also ripens, but I have not tried it.

Fruits that are stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature are still better to check regularly: avocados can both ripen quickly and spoil quickly. If voids are found in a fruit with a hard skin, when lightly pressed, it means that it must be dealt with immediately.

The fruits of "Hass" just have a dense skin. As they ripen, not only the stone is well separated from the pulp, but also the pulp itself exfoliates from the peel.

A slice of a "Fuerte" avocado a few hours after being watered with lime juice. It was also kept under wrap. If you carefully cut off this part, there will be a pulp of a regular shade under it (see photo below). This fruit is ripe for room conditions. The photo shows that the pulp itself has already separated from the bone.

ripe pulp Many varieties of avocado have a yellow-green hue. It is soft, buttery, pleasant to taste and almost melts in your mouth. It is easily separated from the bone and from the peel. When the pulp begins to deteriorate, it changes color to gray-brown. On the cut, with the access of air, it almost completely becomes brown, but rot or "bruises" can appear in different places of the fruit.

Rotten places can sometimes be distinguished from "bruises" only by the taste, smell and consistency of the pulp: rot - it is rot.

Bruised fetus. This is how "bruises" look, but specks are not scary, this is the norm. Photo from official document: International Standards for Fruits and Vegetables. Avocado / International Standardization Of Fruit And Vegetables. Avocados - Avocats - Aguacates (Paltas)

If a sliced avocado or a dish with it needs to be stored for a day, then it is better cover it with a film or place under a lid to block the access of oxygen. Contrary to popular belief, lemon and lime juice does not save avocado pulp, incl. guacamole, from browning: avocados still darken. It even seemed to me that the flesh does not darken longer if you just cover it with a film than pour lime juice over it.

I will give another example of the darkening of the flesh of an avocado.

AVOCADO OIL and AVOCADO MAYO

This photo shows the same half of the avocado shown above, but the darkened part has been cut off. On right - butter with avocado

On the foreign-language Internet, I came across an opinion that if, they say, you cook “delicious butter with avocado”, then it can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 weeks. Prepared: it turned out "gray-green oil, amateur". It can’t be stored in the refrigerator for so long - the taste and color change (especially outside), and it can inadvertently become moldy (I spent different experiences with butter and additives). I don't see the point in keeping it in the freezer either. In my opinion, this kind of oil is best cooked only some time before serving. In itself, it turns out to be interesting, but not for everyone.

Avocados also have their own oil - fatty, vegetable oil (in the bottle in the photo above). I really like this oil. It can be used for both culinary and medicinal and cosmetic purposes. It is especially good to use it in the cold season: both in porridge and on the skin of the face :) It tastes ... like a liquid avocado. Well, or how olive oil, devoid of astringency, bitterness and not so viscous.

Butter with avocado. Ingredients and preparation

Half an avocado
50 gr butter
1/2 tsp lime zest (optional, it really changes the taste of this oil)
salt to taste

Beat softened butter well with avocado pulp, lime zest and salt.

It's better not to keep it for a long time. I tamped it into a mold and wrapped it in food foil. It froze a little in the refrigerator, but still turned brown on all sides (the photo was taken a day later). It tastes like a lot of fat :) But avocado lovers also make such oil, and similar recipes are found both on the Internet and in paper books.

I liked it better AVOCADO MAYO / Avocado Mayo. It is under this name that this dish can be found in various sources.

To be honest, I don’t know why many culinary specialists call all kinds of fruit and vegetable sauces and pates, including mayonnaise. multi-colored, cooked without eggs, and even sometimes using a completely different technology :) I also cook (once a year, for New Year) the so-called "vegetarian mayonnaise without eggs" on sour cream to the vegetarian "Olivier" with eggs, but it's always uncomfortable and strange for me to call this one white sauce. My conscience is saved only by the fact that "Olivier" is also, as it were, vegetarian :) I call all the other pâté sauces differently.

Mayonnaise is still mayonnaise, but in this case, "avocado-mayo" sounds beautiful: on the one hand, it's not like mayonnaise, but on the other hand, the name echoes Mayan Indians. Indians and avocados are symbolic, see Part 1 for a story.

1 ripe fruit avocado
4-5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (I don't like lime here)
1-2 tsp table mustard (I have Dijon)
4 or more tbsp. vegetable oil (I use avocado oil)
salt, pepper and other spices - to taste

Prepare like mayonnaise: beat all ingredients well. The amount of vegetable oil depends on what consistency is needed.

I wanted to cook a thick pate and leave grains of pulp in it. And now everyone liked this pate. It was not stored for a long time: they ate it quickly. The Indians knowingly combine avocados with hot pepper: spicy helps digest fat. So mustard here, in my opinion, is very suitable and goes well with avocado!

By the way, there is also a real avocado mayonnaise. Information about it can be found on the Internet under the words "Avocado oil mayonnaise": it is prepared with (vegetable) avocado oil, which I mentioned above - with a real egg and using the technology of real mayonnaise.

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Lemon and lime are also not interchangeable. like cilantro and parsley. Taste and aroma of lemon and lime fruits, incl. peels are also different. Despite the fact that both citruses have a natural sour taste, lime oxidizes the body, and lemon alkalizes. This is their main difference, this is where the lemon is generally different from all citrus fruits. See also my article