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August 23, 2005
What I've learned about Avocados
Okay, so my recent obsession with guacamole has led me to learn a little something about avocados:
There are two main types that you'll see in stores: The Hass and the Fuerte.
Hass come from California typically and are about the size of a fist. They have a bumpy exterior texture. In the store, they are pretty green, sometimes turning black. They aren't ripe until they are almost completely black and have a little give when squeezed. They're usless when underripe. Put them in a brown bag with some ripe apples or bananas to get them ripened faster. You won't likely find them ripe in the store - these are not instant gratification fruit.
Fuerte are larger than the Hass - about two Fuerte has the yield of 3 Hass. They are green when ripe. If they're turning black outside, they're likely turning black inside, too. That's bad. They seem to typically be labeled as "Florida Avocados" in the store, where I have found them to be either ripe or overripe. They have significantly less fat than Hass, which results in a less creamy texture - so these are good if you like chunky guacamole with a lot of lime juice in it.
A serving of an avocado is 1/8 of the fruit. They're really more a fat than a fruit product.
Speaking of guacamole, I haven't tried again recently, but I did make another batch after the first. I used Hass avocados the second time - which is when I learned my important lessons about ripening. I also used the fresh salsa from the prepared food section of Whole Foods. That was much better than using jarred stuff. Yes, I could do tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno from scratch, but I think that's too much work to do.
As for the avocados, I think I prefer the Fuerte, but they're harder to find in good condition. I'll probably try to pick up some more Hass and try again this weekend.
Posted by Janice Ryan at August 23, 2005 11:41 PM
Comments
Posted by: JJ at September 26, 2005 8:42 PM
Posted by: okey oyna at December 3, 2009 3:47 PM
Posted by: okey oyna at December 3, 2009 3:49 PM