Avocado.
Avocado – the fruit of an evergreen tree of Perseus American (Persea americana) family laurel (Lavraceae) from tropical America. And Avocado called alligator pear, alligator pear.
Avocado comprises at least 14, 11 vitamins and minerals. It has a lot of vitamin E – the most important of antioxidants. Oily avocado pulp does not contain heavy fat (all its monounsaturated fats as olive oil) and cholesterol. The pulp of ripe fruit by 30% consists of vegetable fats, which feed the cells and regenerate tissues. Avocado helps to forget about dry skin and restore luster faded hair. Useful eat 1 avocado twice a week in the winter – three times a week (no weight problems).
The types and grades
There are three varieties of avocados: Mexican, Guatemalan and West Indian. In the Mexican avocado fruits of thin-skinned, and tree leaves when crushed smell like anise. It is cold-resistant culture, feels good in the subtropics. In the Guatemalan avocado fruits are large, thick-skinned; These trees are more whimsical and less cold-resistant. The most delicate varieties of avocados – West Indian, cultivated mainly in the tropics.
All modern varieties of avocados back to these three types. For example, the Russian gardeners cultivated varieties meksikola and Puebla are Mexican, and Fuerte cultivar – a hybrid of Mexican and Guatemalan avocado.
Generally, in the world there are about 400 varieties of avocados, they differ in shape (round, oblong or pear-shaped), size (from small, the size of a plum, to large, weighing up to a kilogram) and taste the fruit. Different can be skin color from light green to black and dark purple. In most cases, avocado or remains green as they mature, or change color to dark green, sometimes even black when ripe.
The most common, frequent, and on the shelves of our stores varieties include:
- Gwen (Gwen), with medium or large fruits round or slightly oblong, dark green bumpy-skinned and yellow-green flesh that has a light taste of the egg;
- Zuta (Zutano), avocado elongated pear-shaped with a smooth, green skin can be easily removed, the taste of white or yellowish flesh looks a bit like an apple;
- Reed (Reed), round or oblong fruit, thick pupyrchatoy dark-green skin and light yellow flesh, taste – with a hint of pear and walnut;
- Fuerte (Fuerte), pear-shaped fruit with a smooth shiny green skin and tender sweet creamy taste;
- Pinkerton (Pinkerton), fruits elongated pear-shaped green with a rough skin, darkening as they mature and yellowish pulp with a delicate sweet flavor;
- Hass (Hass), the most common, is the only commercially available all year round oval fruit with a thick, mature in a black-skinned and white or yellowish oily flesh nutty flavor;
- Bacon (Bacon), with oval juicy fruit covered with a thin smooth dark green skin, the taste is weak;
- meksikola (Mexicola), cold-resistant, relatively drought-resistant varieties, giving the largest crop in terms of the Caucasus. The fruits weighing up to 100 g, dark purple, almost black when ripe, ripen in late August and September;
Puebla (Puebla), and cold-resistant plant, near Gagra matures in November-December, has poluyaytsevidnye fruit with dark brown skin, weighing up to 200 grams; - Ettinger (Ettinger) has the shape of a pear easily released with a large bone and soft, melting in your mouth flesh. In Israel, where in the Russian export avocados of this variety, Ettinger is the first grade of the season: it ripens in early autumn (Haas, Fuerte, Pinkerton, Reed and Israel ripens later).
How to cook
In order to cut an avocado, you need to cut it in a circle along the bone, separate the halves apart and remove the bone. Peel not cut – it can be easily separated from the pulp using a tablespoon. Thick skin can be used as a salad. To flesh is not darkened, sprinkle with citrus juice it – best lime juice.
Avocado – nutritious and easily digestible product. Those who during the day you need a lot of energy to work or, for example, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, be popular and easy meal: avocado (unpeeled), cut lengthwise into halves, remove the bone and into the hole poured sunflower oil, olive oil or melted butter butter, roll in thick salt and pepper and eat with a spoon.
At home avocados in Mexico, the most famous and popular dish of avocado – guacamole sauce. To make guacamole at home, peel 1 avocado, cut in half and remove the pit. Now clean the small onion and half the pepper. Put it all into a blender, add a little chilli, tomato, a little salt, a few spoons of olive oil or refined sunflower oil, half or quarter of a peeled lemon – and Peremel pogrubee. The resulting sauce is served in corn tortillas, as well as rice and thin steaks.
In Miami, avocado ice cream making. Avocado mixed with frozen fruit and milk composition. It turns out he and a wonderful cocktail – milk coffee, plus a small amount of brandy or rum. There is a cocktail Deep martinakanets (Féroce Martiniquais) – with avocado, onion, garlic, parsley, chilli and boiled cod. Although this is rather soup.
Incidentally soup with avocado in the Americas is quite a lot.
If the avocado is added to hot dishes, it is only at the very end, a couple of minutes until cooked. If you hold it longer on fire, avocado will taste bitter. Examples of hot dishes – avocado breaded with flour, fried in olive oil; risotto with avocado
Season
How to choose and store
How to choose an avocado? The fruit must be of uniform color – green, dark green, green-brown or almost black – but certainly no stains and damage skin. But the color of the pulp is difficult to determine ripeness. The fact that the avocados are several varieties with different pulp – and yellow, and light green.
Buy avocados better nedozrelymi.Doma they reach the condition, but at the rancid taste of overripe for rotten fat. To ripe avocados at home, it is necessary to put the fruit in a paper bag or wrap in a paper towel and then clean in a dark cool place for 2-4 days. To accelerate the ripening of apples and avocados can help bananas. Put avocados and bananas or apples in a paper bag, make a few holes in it and store it in a dark place.
The best avocado, which can be bought in stores, Israeli (Ettinger varieties, Haas, chloride, Fuerte, Pinkerton). Good avocados imported from South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Spain. Some experts believe the most delicious small round avocado bumpy dark skinned. However, on this score may be different views.
Avocado quickly darkens enough, in which case you will lemon juice. If you only use half an avocado, then the second (with bone) can be stored for 1-2 days in the fridge, sprinkle it with lemon juice and wrapped in plastic wrap.
Bone avocado can be buried in a flower pot, and you will grow a beautiful evergreen tree with a thick trunk, long branches and very large leaves. For other purposes, the bone is not suitable, it is tasteless and even toxic.
