... Eat Avocado

Spanish conquistadors at the beginning of the XVIth century were very puzzled: it looked like a big pear but it remained green even when ripe.

The pulp was soft and buttery, somehow like that of the peanuts.

The Aztec word "ahuacatl" ("testicle", due to its shape) gave its current name.

Scientists believe this fruit evolved in relation with extinct giant sloths, because they can not grow in the wild, as there's no species to spread them now.

Avocado was so valued by the Indians that it was used as a wedding gift or for greeting visitors.

Now avocado is cultivated from southern US to Brazil, Australia, Philippines, Israel, Kenya and New Zealand.

Even today, the greatest variety is found in native Americas: some types are chicken egg sized, while others can weigh 1 kilo per fruit. The color varies from green to dark purple. The fruit's skin can be from harsh and crumbly to thin and fine. That's why the ripe fruit can be determined only by its softness, not by color.

And pouring lemon over already consumed fruit will impede its blackening.

Just one from 5000 pale yellow flowers will make a fruit, and a tree produces about 120 fruits annually.

Avocado is rich in fats, proteins, 11 vitamins (like B3, B2, C) and 14 minerals.

In Mexico, avocado with tortilla is considered a complete food.

Many people eat avocado with citrus fruits or tomatoes.

The taste of the fruit can be improved with a very flavored sauce. This way, avocado is recommended to be eaten with shrimp, crab or lobster or can be used to adorn salads.

In several types of sushi, avocado is used as a filling.

Some people combine avocado with other fruits to get a refreshing juice.

Smashed avocado fruits, mixed with spices and other ingredients, is used for making a delicious cream, served on crackers.

Maybe the most famous dish including avocado is guacamole, made of avocado, tomatoes, onion, peppers and spices.

The fruit can be added to cooked dishes, but at the last moment, without cooking it.

In fact, most parts of an avocado tree are used. The oil extracted from avocado is similar to olive oil, but it's also used for making soap and cosmetics. The wood is used as fuel. In South America, the pip is used for marking fabrics, because it leaves an indelible print. In some zones of the Philippines, the leaves are used to make an infusion. And the bark can be used for tanning leather.