Forget Bananas! Avocados Are Quite Possibly the World's Most Perfect Food!

God must have been in a good mood when he created avocados. Because I tell you, here lately, that is for the last six months or so, every time I even think about the prospect of eating what has become a staple in my regular diet, avocado-bacon and tomato salad, I get pretty doggone giddy. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night snack during writing, it doesn't matter when, if there are avocados in the house, I'm eating them as soon as they're ripe enough.

"Need a few items from the market-I'll get 'em baby." By now she knows I'm coming back with whatever we need, plus a few avocados. Don't let me try and describe for you what I look like once I get there. If you ever see a guy hovering over the avocados in the produce section of the market, meticulously rifling through 'em all, searching for the very best ones available at the time, that might just be me. I've even taken to visiting different market's produce sections with the sole intent of finding out who has the best selection of avocados overall at any given time. What do I do after I find out and return home? Why I gotta give a full report to my girl, whom thankfully likes them "almost" as much as me. "You couldn't possibly like avocados more than me," I tell her. I make that perfectly clear to her every time we sit down for an avocado-something-or-another.It's funny because from the time I'm cutting open an avocado, knifing through the delicious fruit and spooning it out, through sitting down and eating it, all you hear us saying is ooh-ahh, yum-yum-yum, it's so-good. How did I ever go through life without this food of the gods.

Awhile back, I had heard that avocados were very, very good for you. Mind you this was before my current love-affair with avocados started. But now that I have a full-blown case of salivatus-avocadois, I thought I would research a few things about this heavenly fruit found right here on earth. Following is some of the facts I picked to share with you. You didn't think I'd go on-and-on about what might be quite possibly the world's most perfect food, did you?

History and Varieties

The avocado, as far as any mentioning of it by man, dates back in time to about 291 B.C.E. to Central Mexico. From there we skip ahead to 1871 when Judge Ord of Santa Barbara, California successfully introduced avocado trees, the Fuerte' variety, from Mexico to the U.S. However avocados didn't become a cash crop until the early 1900s. It was in the 1920s that Randolph Hass planted a seedling tree, which he later patented in 1935, that went on to become "the mother tree" of every Hass avocado in the world.

Worldwide and in the U.S.there are hundreds and hundreds of varieties. However, in the United States, there are only several varieties, namely the Fuerte' & Hass which are commercially-grown. Some of the other U.S. commercially-grown varieties are known as Bacon, Gwen, Pinkerton, and the newest Lamb Hass.

By the Numbers

While avocados are grown and exported from several countries, Mexico is the world's leading provider of avocados. Mexican avocados are sold in all 50 states of the U.S. of America. However, California avocados make up over 85% of all U.S. consumption of the fruit. Furthermore it is the Hass variety which accounts for most all of that consumption by the U.S. consumer.

California is considered numero uno y Florida numero dos when it comes to the pecking order in avocado production and reputation.
One California Hass avocado tree can produce up to 200lbs each year or about 500 pcs. of fruit.
New certified-organic avocado farms are very much on the increase.

Health and Nutritional Benefits

Contrary to popular belief the avocado can be quite beneficial to a weight-management program.The avocado is virtually the only fruit that has fat which is mono-unsaturated. Only 5 grams of fat per serving and most of that of the mono-unsaturated kind. It's mono-unsaturated fat speeds up the basal metabolic rate as compared to saturated fat. It is very, very low in cholesterol, the bad kind. And it's Omega-3 rich.

Avocados provide more than 25 essential nutrients. They are a very good source of vitamin E, good amounts of vitamin C, containing credible amounts of thiamine and riboflavin. And compared to the banana, it has 60% more potassium. It is very low in sodium, very low sugar. And it's high in dietary fiber.

Commercially-grown California avocados rank among the lowest of "all' fruits and vegetables for pesticide use.

Selection, storage, and use

When selecting, choose avocados which have a consistent feel all over it whether hard or slightly soft. Shake the fruit to make sure the seed doesn't jiggle inside. If you buy them at the market while still hard then they will usually ripen at home between 2-5 days.Add an apple or banana along with the avocado in a brown paper bag to hasten the ripening process.Do not put in refrigerator. They will not ripen properly. Although after they've ripened, preferably in a spot out of direct sunlight, they can be stored in the refrigerator, unpeeled, for a week or two.

Avocados are used for many things. The early Aztecs used to use them for increased sexual prowess. I'll leave that up to your discretion. Today, they are used mostly for cooking but have a few other uses, including as a skin moisturizer. As it's most common use, though, eating is tops on my list. Recipes abound for this little wondrous fruit. But, there again, a simple avocado, bacon, and tomato salad is all I really need. Perhaps you'll find that, too. Enjoy!