Amazing Avos | What you didn’t know about avocado
Winter time is Avo time in Nelspruit and these fascinating fruit are so much part of the Lowveld that there is even an entire festival dedicated to it.
Each year come winter residents from Nelspruit and surrounds enjoy the annual Brandal Avo Festival. The Avocado however is enjoyed not just on this day but throughout the year. Avocado or alligator pear as it is also known, originates from Mexico and Central America and although we tend to think an avo is an avo, there are actually five varieties that are commercially grown in South Africa.
Fuerte
This variety is distinctly ‘pear’ shaped but sometimes has a long thinner neck. The skin is smooth and thin and stays green when it ripens. The flesh of this medium sized avo bruises easily. It is available from mid to late February from the Limpopo province until early August from Kwazulu-Natal. Out of season fruit is available year round.
The Fuerte ripens quickly out of cold storage which could be approximately seven days from picking. Store at 5’C, not colder, when it is green otherwise it will develop big brown and black cold damage marks. This is the best known variety is South Africa.
Hass
This round or egg shaped fruit has a thick, green, pebbly skin which changes colour to purple/black when it becomes ripe. Skin does not yield to pressure easily and once it becomes soft or shrivelled the fruit is overripe.
It is small to medium in size (140 – 350g) and in proportion to the fruit the seed is quite small. It is in season from mid to late May from the Limpopo province until October from Kwazulu-Natal. Out of season fruit is available year round. This variety has an excellent shelf life with very few post-harvest problems. Store at not colder than 5’C. Hass avos have a rich and nutty taste, as opposed to the stringy, watery Natal seedling variety.
Pinkerton
This variety has a definite ‘neck’ and a thick rough green coloured skin that stays green coloured when ripe. The thick skin does not yield to pressure easily. Fruit size varies from medium to large (230- 550g). Pinkerton has a short season from June in the Limpopo province to July from KwaZulu-Natal. Out of season fruit are not easily available. Store at warmer than 7’C. These avos have slightly sweet taste.
Edranol
This variety is oval to pear shaped with thick green coloured skin with small corky speckles (lenticels) which stays green coloured when ripe. The skin shrivels at the stem end if picked when it is not fully mature. Size varies from medium large to large (312 – 500g) and its season is from June from the north eastern parts of the country until late September from KwaZulu Natal. Out of season fruit is available late in the year.
It ripens quickly out of cold storage and the skin is prone to lenticel damage. Although cosmetically unappealing, this does not affect internal quality. Store at warmer than 6’C. The taste is excellent, rich and nutty.
Ryan
This avocado variety is known as a late season egg shaped fruit with slightly rough dark green skin that stays green coloured when ripe. It is large (300 – 500g) with a large seed and is available from August to September from the Limpopo province and from October from KwaZulu-Natal. Late season fruit are readily available.
Some facts on avocados
• Interestingly the fruit does not soften on the tree, although it is physiologically mature.
• For good eating quality, avocados should contain more than 10 % oil. Remember that the oils in the avocado are mainly polyunsaturated oils, and contain no cholesterol.
• Avocados with high oil content, that were picked towards the end of a cultivar’s season will soften faster than early fruit with low oil content.
• Softening begins at the round end of the fruit then continues up to the stem.
All avocado cultivars can be kept under refrigeration for a few days in order to maintain fruit firmness. The recommended temperature is 6 – 7 °C. The general rule is that the earlier in the season, the more sensitive the fruit will be to chilling injury. When avocados are ripe, they can be stored at 4 °C without damage occurring.
Ripening of avocados
In order to trigger fruit-softening, avocados can be kept at 20 – 25 °C at 95 % relative humidity for one or two days. When an avocado is approaching eating ripeness, the short fruit stalk comes off easily when touched gently. In a hard, unripe avocado, which will still take days to soften, the fruit stalk is still firmly attached. In the Hass variety, which usually has no fruit stem, the fruit skin changes its colour from green to purple/black during the ripening process.
In any box of avocados the fruits will vary in the time they take to ripen. This is because the fruits on the tree ‘set’ over a long period. However, by triggering the fruit as described above, ripening can be synchronised.
Avocados should not be stored for any length of time with bananas, apples or cabbages, as the ethylene gas given off by these crops can have a negative effect on fruit quality, causing internal discoloration.
Fruit that starts turning grey internally, particularly fuerte, has either been picked too late in the season, or has been stored for too long.
If avocados are stored for too long at low temperatures, below 5 °C, they will show typical signs of chilling injury, blacking of the skin and internal grey or brown discoloration.
Quick ripening
To accelerate the ripening process, place avocados in the fruit bowl with other fruit (especially bananas), or better still, pop them into a brown paper bag with the bananas.
The perfect figures
Many people are cautioned by avocados containing oil but the truth is 1/2 of a typical avocado contains approximately 160 calories which is 20 calories less than a small bag of peanuts, and slightly lower than a small slice of cheddar cheese. In fact, eating avocado can be part of a successful weight management program because its monounsaturated oil speeds up the basal metabolic rate, its oil content may help reduce overeating because you get full faster and this same oil content reduces the urge to binge on unhealthy foods.
Avoided for years as a result of the common misconception that they are fattening and contain dangerous levels of unhealthy oils and cholesterol, international scientists are now advocating avos as an important part of the daily diet.
The truth is avocados do not contain cholesterol and are very rich in monounsaturated oil an essential element for lowering ldl cholesterol levels, in other words, for lowering the bad cholesterol.
In fact, the avocados’ capacity to reduce chances of coronary disease led to the fruit being awarded the South African heart foundation’s heart mark in 1997. This distinction is awarded only to those foods proven to have a role in combating or lowering the rate of heart disease.
Avocado is also rich in important antioxidants vitamins E and C which protects the body from free radicals that cause gradual deterioration and aging. By eating an avocado a day you benefit from the daily intake of vitamin e necessary for boosting energy levels and strengthening the immune system.
As for vitamin c its benefits are numerous, ranging from common cold prevention to protecting the body from stressful situations.
Recipe for success
So your guacamole doesn’t taste quite as nice as the serving you had with your cheesy quesadillas at the restaurant. That’s no problem! Here are two awesome recipes for the tastiest guacamole around. And if all your avos ripen at the same time you can make a large batch and freeze it for later.
Guacamole
4 med avocados, mashed roughly
125 ml finely chopped green chilli peppers
1 – 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
60 ml minced onion
1 tablespoon salt
Freshly grounded black pepper
Crushed garlic – to taste
60 ml lemon juice
Shallots – optional
Combine all ingredients, cover and chill.
Serve with corn chips or snack biscuits or freeze in air tight container.
Guacamole with a sting
Mash two avocados in to a smooth consistency.
Add finely chopped garlic, onion and chilli (seeds Removed) with the juice of a lime.
Season with salt and pepper and ad a handful of chopped coriander.
If you are really daring add a splash of tequila!
Information and images courtesy of the South African Avocado Growers Association