As a kid I wasn’t known as much of
a picky eater. I was, within certain limits, willing to try almost anything. However,
when my parents offered me a bowl of green mush to try I was more than a little
hesitant. I carefully dipped my Tostito chip into the dip, making sure to get
as little of the repulsive stuff on there as possible. Imagine my surprise when
I realized how tasty it was and was almost begging for more. Ever since that
moment I have not been able to get enough guacamole, and by extension avocados.
Avocados are becoming increasingly more popular in the U.S., with it being used
in everything from salads to cosmetics. It is an interesting little fruit that
has an interesting back story.
The
oldest known origins of the avocado are from Puebla, Mexico from over 10,000
years ago. Over time the cultivation of avocados spread across South and
Central America. Many artifacts have been found that suggest that both the
Aztecs and the Incas grew and consumed the fruit. When the Spanish explorers
traveled to the Americas in the 1500s and 1600s they too discovered the avocado
from the Aztecs. Unable to pronounce the Aztec name for it, the ahuacatl, the
Spanish decided to change the pronunciation and called it the “aguacate”. Seeing
its nutritional value, the Spanish brought it back to the Eastern part of the world
to distribute the wealth (Freir). First, the avocado plants were brought to Indonesia
and then later to everywhere from South Africa and Australia to North America
and Europe. Once brought to Europe the English translated the Spanish term
aguacate to what it is known as today, the avocado. Now, the avocado is grown
commercially all across the world (Whiley).
Avocados
grow and mature on trees similar to a banana. The avocado can be left on the
tree for several months once it reaches maturity before it needs to be picked. Once
the avocado is picked from the tree it begins to ripen. Because of this the avocados
are transported commercially at cool temperatures to prevent them from
ripening. Once the avocado is in a room
temperature area, it will ripen within two to three days. Many grocery stores
use ethylene gas so that they can sell pre-ripened fruit. Ethylene gas is a
natural gas that is given off by many different types of produce that help keep
the surrounding produce from becoming over-ripe. However, many sellers will use
a synthetic ethylene gas to slow the ripening process, rather than counting on
it to do so naturally (Smith).
Today
the main center of avocado production is still its place of origin, Mexico,
with more than one million metric tons produced in 2005 (Galindo-Tovar). Along
with Mexico, different variations of the avocado can be found all over the
world because of its distribution back in the 1700s and 1800s. The avocado
plant itself can be grown in varying climates, which is how the plant can be
grown in so many different locations. Despite the worldwide growth of avocados and
the majority grown in neighboring Mexico, the United States sells only American
grown avocados fearing the affect that foreign insects and diseases may have on
other types of produce.
In
the United States most avocados are grown in either California or Florida.
California is the main center of avocado production in the U.S. by being where the
two favorite types of avocados, the Hass and the Fuerte, originated. The Fuerte
avocado is named such because of how it originated in America. Avocado plants
were brought to California in 1911 in the hopes of building up production of avocados
in the U.S. However, in one year every tree had been killed by a particularly
disastrous frost except for one. The entire Fuerte avocado industry has been
built from this lone, surviving tree. The Hass avocado has a similar story. In
the 1920s a man named Rudolph Hass, decided to start his own avocado farm,
trying to build upon the growing trend of avocado production. He bought seeds
from Mexico and combined this plant with the Fuerte variation that had been
started in the U.S. 10 years earlier. This seed combination proved to be
tricky, with every tree that he planted dying before any avocados had a chance
to grow. About to cut down his final attempt, a friend convinced him to let the
tree grow and see what happened. After some time the Hass avocado grew, which
has grown today to be the most popular avocado in the U.S. Like the Fuerte
avocado, all of the Hass avocados that are eaten today descend from that first
tree (Freir).
Avocados
have become important in American food culture today. They are extremely
healthy with more potassium than a banana and high levels of varying vitamins.
Studies have been done that show that avocados can lower harmful and raise
beneficial blood cholesterol levels. New studies today are also being done to
see if avocados may contain certain chemicals that help prevent cancer (Ding).
With all of the great benefits of eating an avocado, it makes it a very
important ingredient in our food culture. Seeing how the majority of avocado
production in the U.S. is naturally done, has caused me to look at it in a
different light. No longer do I see a fruit that can be turned into a
particularly tasty green, mushy dip, but something that can be used to better
the way that we eat.
Works Cited
Ding, Haiming “Chemopreventive characteristics of avocado fruit.” Seminars in Cancer Biology. Volume 17, Issue 5, October 2007. P. 386–394. 2007: Elsevier Ltd. <http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/science/article/pii/S1044579X07000272>
Freir, Pam. “Avocado’s history filled with lust, luck: Fruit got its name
from Spanish explorers.” Calgary Herald.
12 Nov. 2006: Calgary, Alta. <http://0
Galindo-Tovar, Maria Elena. “The Avocado (Persea Americana, Lauraceae)
Crop in Mesoamerica: 10,000 Years of History.” Harvard Papers in Botany. p. 325-334. 12 Dec 2007: Harvard
University Herbaria <http://0-dx.doi.org.bianca.penlib.du.edu/10.3100/1043-4534(2007)12[325:TAPALC]2.0.CO;2>
Smith, Andrew W.J., Poulston, Stephen. “A New Palldium-Based Ethylene
Scavenger to Control Ethylene-Induced Ripening of Climacteric Fruit.” Platinum Metals Review, Volume 53,
Number 3, July 2009, p. 112-122. Johnson Matthey <http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/matthey/pmr/2009/00000053/00000003/art00001>
Whiley, A. W. Schaffer, B. B. Wolstenhome, B. N. “Avocado: Botany,
Production and Uses.” 2002: CABI Publishing Wallingford, Oxon, GBR p. 1-15.
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