Avocado, Fruit
Avocado or alligator fruit is the fruit of the avocado tree (Persea americana, syn. Persea gratissima), a flowering plant in family Lauraceae, along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel. Avocado is native to the State of Puebla in Mexico, and is cultivated in tropical climates throughout the world. The avocado was introduced to California (United States), from Mexico in the 19th century, and has since become a successful cash crop. The native, undomesticated variety is known as criollo, a small fruit with dark black skin and a large seed. The word 'avocado' comes from the Nahuatl word 'ahuacatl', meaning testicle, in reference to the shape of the fruit. The fruit is known by the Aztec as 'the fertility fruit'. Avaocado tree is a dense evergreen tree, growing up to 20 m tall, and is partially self-pollinating and are often propagated through grafting to maintain quality and quantity of the fruit. The leaves are alternate and 12-25 cm long. The greenish-yellow flowers are inconspicuous, 5-10 mm wide. The fruit is pear-shaped, 7-20 cm long and weigh 100-1000 grams. The fruit has a large, central seed, 5-6.5 cm long. The fruit matures on tree, but ripens off the tree. In commercial trade, avocados are picked hard and green and kept in coolers at 3.3 - 5.6 °C until they reach their final destination. Once picked, avocados ripen in a few days at room temperature. They will ripen faster if stored with other fruits such as apples or bananas, due to the influence of ethylene gas. The avocados have an unusual timing of the male and female flower phases, and can be grouped into two types. "A" cultivars such as Hass, Gwen, Lamb Hass, Pinkerton, and Reed, have flowers that open as female on the morning of the first day and close in late morning or early afternoon. They then open as male in the afternoon of the second day. "B" cultivars are Fuerte, Sharwil, Zutano, Bacon, Ettinger, Sir Prize, and Walter Hole, have flowers that open as female on the afternoon of the first day, close in late afternoon and reopen as male the following morning. Hass,a hybrid Guatemalan type of avocado, can withstand cold temperatures to -3°C. It is the most common avocado tree, producing fruit year-round and accounts for 80% of cultivated avocados in the world. Hass has a tendency to bear well only in alternate years. Seedless avocados may appear on the trees due to environmental circumstances during some year. Hass trees are 6 m tall and 4 m wide, producing medium-sized, ovate, black and pebbled-skinned fruits, 150-250 g. The flesh has a nutty, rich flavor with about 19% oil. Avocado has a unique flavor and creamy texture. Depending on varieties, the fruit can either have a tart, tart-sweet, or sweet flavor and a juicy flavor. Immature avocado fruits come in every shades of green. Some varities have skins that are smooth and shiny, while others have dull and pebbled skins. Some varietes have fruits that retain their green color as they ripen. In others, the fruits change from green to reddish-purple, bronze, or black color. Avocados can be sliced, diced, pureed or served on the half-shell. They can be served aone, or served together with fresh fruit, salad greens, cottage cheese, cold meats and seafood. Once cut open, the flesh of avocado is proned to enzymatic browning, and this browning can be prevented by adding lime or lemon juice to cut pieces. Avocados have a high monounsaturated fat content, and rich in pottassium, B vitamins, vitamin E and vitamin K, fiber, and are free of sodium and cholesterol.  Avocado Author: B.navez (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported) | ||
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