Avocado: Buying & Storing
Avocados are sold all year round. To enjoy them, they must be perfectly ripe. You can't assess ripeness by looking at the skin. Instead, cradle the fruit in the palm of your hand, and apply gentle pressure: The avocado should yield slightly all over.
Avocados are sold all year round. To enjoy them, they must be perfectly ripe. You can't assess ripeness by looking at the skin. Instead, cradle the fruit in the palm of your hand, and apply gentle pressure: The avocado should yield slightly all over.
Store ripe avocados in the crisper of the refrigerator for up to three days. Cut, unpitted avocados keep for up to 24 hours if sprinkled with lemon juice and wrapped in plastic in the refrigerator.
To ripen, place unripe avocados in a bowl with bananas in a warm room.
Avocado: General Information
Avocado is actually a fruit (belonging to the genus Persea), but it's generally served as a vegetable. For centuries, it has been cultivated and eaten in its native South America; indeed, its name derives from the Aztec ahuacet. Avocados are now grown in most tropical countries and eaten worldwide.
Believe it or not, there are over 500 avocado varieties. The most popular are: Ettinger, oblong with bright, shiny, smooth, green skin; Hass, with purplish-black skin; Fuerte, oblong with dark green, slightly rough skin; and Habal, large and round with a good-sized pit. There is also a tiny Cocktail avocado, which has no pit.
Avocado: Preparation & Cooking
To open an avocado, cut in half lengthwise around the pit, then separate into halves by carefully rotating each portion in opposite directions. Remove the pit, and rub cut surfaces with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. To slice, if required, peel, place cut side down, and slice lengthwise (or crosswise, if preferred).
To open an avocado, cut in half lengthwise around the pit, then separate into halves by carefully rotating each portion in opposite directions. Remove the pit, and rub cut surfaces with lemon juice to prevent discoloration. To slice, if required, peel, place cut side down, and slice lengthwise (or crosswise, if preferred).
Avocado: Serving Suggestions
As appetizers, avocados are always popular halved, pitted, and filled with a vinaigrette or shrimp mixture. For a change, fill the cavities with Roquefort mayonnaise or flaked crab meat marinated in lemon juice. Avocado and grapefruit slices complement each other perfectly as a delicate first course.
Pureed avocado makes a refreshing and stylish chilled soup and delicious dips, such as spicy Mexican guacamole.
The nutty, delicate flavor and succulent texture of avocados make them ideal in salads: Try avocado with bacon and spinach, or chicken and avocado salad.
Avocados may also be baked with a savory filling (a creamy seafood mixture is particularly good), though some claim that the fruit's delicate flavor is not as good hot.
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