Avocado
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? Avocado |
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 Avocado fruit and foliage, Huntington Library, California
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| Persea americana Mill. |
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Avocado (Persea americana) is a tree and the fruit of that tree, classified in the flowering plant family, Lauraceae. It is native to Central America and Mexico. The tree grows to 20 m (65 ft), with alternately arranged, evergreen leaves, 12-25 cm long. The flowers are inconspicuous, greenish-yellow, 5-10 mm wide. The pear-shaped fruit is botanically a berry, from 7 to 20 cm long, and weighs between 100-1000 g. It has a large central seed, 3-5 cm in diameter. An average avocado tree produces about 120 avocados annually. The fruit is sometimes called an avocado pear or alligator pear, from its shape and green skin. The avocado tree does not tolerate freezing temperatures, and so can be grown only in subtropical and tropical climates.
Co-evolution theory
Barlow & Martin (2002) identify the avocado as a fruit adapted for ecological relationship with large mammals, now extinct (as for example the South American herbivorous giant ground sloths or Gomphotheres). This fruit with its mildly toxic pit, co-evolved with those extinct mammals to be swallowed whole and excreted in dung, ready to sprout. The ecological partners have disappeared, and the avocado plant has not had time to evolve an alternative seed dispersal technique, aside from human cultivation.
Cultivation
The avocado fruit does not ripen on the tree, but will fall off or be picked in a hard, "green" state, then it will ripen quickly on the ground, but depending on the amount of oil that it has the taste may be very different. Generally, the fruit is picked once it reaches a mature size, and will then ripen in a few days (faster if stored with other fruit such as bananas, because of the influence of ethylene gas). The fruit can be left on the tree until required, rather than picked and stored, but for commercial reasons it must be picked as soon as possible. If the fruit stays on the tree for too long it will fall to the ground.
Introduction to Europe
The earliest known account of the avocado in Europe is that of Martin Fernandez De Encisco in 1519. The plant was first introduced to Indonesia by 1750, Brazil in 1809, Israel in 1908, and South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century. (Source: indexfresh.com).
Cultivation in California
The avocado was introduced to the U.S. state of California in the 19th century, and it has become an extremely successful cash crop. 95% of United States avocado production is located in California, and 80% occurs in San Diego County. Approximately 59,000 acres (approximately 24,000 hectares) of avocados are grown in California. Fallbrook, California, claims the title of "Avocado Capital of the World" and hosts an annual Avocado Festival.
While dozens of cultivars are grown in California, 'Hass' (commonly misspelled 'Haas') is most common, accounting for more than 80% of the crop. In appearance, Hass has a dark, rippled skin and rich, creamy flesh. All Hass avocado trees are related to a single "Mother Tree" that was purchased as a seedling by a mail carrier named Rudolph Hass. He purchased the tree as a seedling from A.R. Rideout of Whittier, California, in 1926. Hass planted the seedling in his front yard in La Habra Heights, California, and patented the tree in 1935. All Hass avocados can be traced back to grafts made from that tree. The "Mother Tree" died of root rot in 2002. Other avocado cultivars include 'Bacon', 'Fuerte' (pictured), 'Gwen', 'Pinkerton', 'Reed' and 'Zutano'. The fruit of the cultivar 'Florida', grown mostly outside of California, is larger and rounder, with a smooth, medium-green skin, and a less-fatty, firmer and fibrous flesh. These are occasionally marketed as low-calorie avocados.
Certain cultivars, such as the 'Hass', have a tendency to bear well only in alternate years. After a season with a low yield, due to factors such as cold (which the avocado does not tolerate well), the trees tend to produce abundantly the next season. This heavy crop depletes stored carbohydrates, resulting in a reduced yield the following season, and thus the alternate bearing pattern becomes established.
As a houseplant
Avocado can be grown as a houseplant from seed, although it will not normally bear fruit indoors; people enjoy it for its greenery. It can be germinated in normal soil in a large pot, or in a glass of water with a piece of charcoal for deodorizing, with the top half held up by toothpicks.
Uses
The fruit of horticultural cultivars range from more or less round to egg or pear-shaped, typically the size of a temperate zone pear or larger, on the outside bright green to green-brown (or almost black) in colour, and high in fat. Though the fruit does have a markedly higher fat content than most other fruit, most of the fat in avocados is monounsaturated fat, which is considered healthy in the human diet. A whole medium Avocado contains approximately 25% of the Daily Value of saturated fat. Avocados also have 60% more potassium than bananas.
The flesh is typically greenish yellow to golden yellow when ripe. The flesh oxidizes and turns brown quickly after exposure to air. To prevent this, a lime or lemon juice can be added to avocados after they are peeled; vitamin C in the juice acts as an antioxidant. The avocado is very popular in vegetarian cuisine, making a substitute for meats in sandwiches and salads because of the high fat content. The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, flavorful, and of smooth, almost creamy texture. It is used as the base for the Mexican dip known as guacamole, as well as a filling for several kinds of sushi, including California rolls. Avocado is popular in chicken dishes and as a spread on toast, served with salt and pepper. In Brazil and Vietnam, avocados are frequently used for milk-shakes and occasionally added to ice cream and in the Philippines, a dessert drink is made with sugar, milk, and pureed avocado.
Names
The name "avocado" is derived from its Nahuatl name 'ahuacatl', meaning testicle (due to its shape), with influence from the conquering Spanish. Avocado became obsolete in Spanish because it sounds too much like 'abogado' (lawyer). In some countries of South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay) the avocado fruit is known by its Quechua name, 'palta'. In other Spanish speaking countries it is called "aguacate". The usage avocado pear is sometimes used in English, as is alligator pear. The Nahuatl ahuacatl can be compounded with other words, as in ahuacamolli, meaning "avocado soup or sauce", from which the Mexican Spanish word guacamole derives. The plural of avocado is avocados or avocadoes. In Chinese, the avocado is evocatively called the "butter fruit".
Avocado related trade war
After the NAFTA treaty was signed, Mexico tried exporting avocados to the USA. The US government resisted, claiming that the trade would introduce fruit flies that would destroy California crops. The Mexican government responded by inviting US department of agriculture inspectors to Mexico, but US government declined, claiming fruit fly inspection is not feasible. The Mexican government then proposed to sell avocados only to the northeastern US in the winter (fruit flies cannot withstand extreme cold). The US government balked, but only gave in when the Mexican government started throwing up barriers to American maize.
Today Avocados from Mexico are allowed in 47 states (not in FL, CA, Hawaii). This is because USDA inspectors in Uruapan, Michoacan (the state where 90% of Hass avocados from Mexico are grown) have cut open and inspected millions of them--but found nothing. Imports from Mexico last season (2004-2005) exceeded 100 million tonnes.
Avocados are much more expensive in the USA than other countries due to the fact that they are grown almost exclusively in California and Florida, and the main potential competitor (Mexico) is banned from 3 states in the market--Florida, California and Hawaii. Mexican farmers have argued against the ban, pointing out that not a single shipment has been found to contain pests since the US Department of Agriculture began inspections in 1997 [1]. Another argument is that the lower prices generated by the Mexican and Chilean imports would increase the popularity of avocados outside of California, thereby assuaging the loss of profits due to the new competition. In the year 2007, Mexican avocados will be permitted in all 50 U.S. States.