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Getting to Know Avocados

Here are some fun and interesting facts about avocados from our friends at Albert’s Organics.

• Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.
• In Brazil avocados mixed in with ice cream is a very popular dessert.
• The avocado is also called an Alligator Pear because of its pear-like shape and it’s bumpy green skin.
• California produces about 90% of the nation’s avocado crop.
• San Diego County is the Avocado Capital of the U.S., producing 60% of all the avocados grown in California.
• There are about 7,000 avocado groves in California; the average size is around 10 acres.
• A single California Avocado tree can produce about 500 avocados (or 200 pounds of fruit) a year, although the usual average is about 60 pounds from 150 avocados.
• There are seven varieties of avocados grown commercially in California, but the Hass is the most popular, accounting for approximately 95% of the total crop volume.
• The oldest living avocado tree is found on the University of California, Berkeley campus and was planted in 1879.
• About 43% of all U.S. households buy avocados.
• To tell if an avocado is really perfectly ripe, hold it in the palm of your hand and gently squeeze. Hard as a rock? Not ripe. Squishy? Overripe. Have as much give as chilled butter? Perfectly ripe.
• Avocados are cholesterol and sodium-free.
• Avocados have the highest fiber content of any fruit and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium, magnesium, and folate.
• Avocados will not ripen on the tree. They must be picked from the tree to initiate ripening. The leaves supply a substance that prevents ripening. The best way to store avocados is to leave them on the tree; they will store for 7 months or more when left on the tree.