Avocados are found all year around in California. They are usually sold at $1 a piece, but this time of year is when they are on sale at 3 for $1. This is good news to me, since I find they are a great addition to any meal.

Avocado can make any salad or sandwich taste instantly better and richer. It’s also good drizzled with agave syrup or honey and eaten like a dessert. Best of all they are loaded with vitamin E and other good stuff.

There are these cute little avocado that I just found out about from Freida’s Produce. Freida is known for introducing America to the fuzzy yet tasty Kiwi.

These little guys are called “Cocktail Avocado”. They are really small and look more like cucumbers. Photo from Freida’s.

The Cocktail Avocado are rarely found in the market. They are of the Fuerte variety and come from the same tree. But since they are not pollinated, they do not develop a seed.

The Produce Hunter notes, “Once a COCKTAIL AVOCADO is fully ripe, you can avoid the whole peeling ordeal by slicing off one end and squeezing the little fruit like a tube of toothpaste (from the bottom, please!). The lovely, ripe flesh will plop right out, ready to be enjoyed!”

I can’t imagine squeezing out a tube of avocado, but at least it would give you instant guacamole.

Avocados are native to Central America, Mexico and the West Indies. When the Spanish conquistador came across these fruits, they first called them “abocado”. Which is probably derived from the Aztec name for the fruit, abuacatl, meaning “butter from the wood.” Avocados were known by the Aztecs as “the fertility fruit”.

The majority of avocado grown today come from southern California, Florida and Mexico. There are mainly 3 types of avocado: Mexican, Guatemalan, and West Indies. The Mexican and Guatemalan variety have thicker skin and small seeds. The larger variety, with thicker skin and larger seed come from the West Indies.

The most common ones found in the market are the Fuerte and Hass avocado with thick skin. Recently I have found the West Indies version that was much larger and had easy to peel thin skin. The taste was not as buttery as the smaller ones, but it was still very smooth and good. I usually purchase these over the smaller variety.

An interesting fact about Avocado fruit is that they will not ripen until they are removed from the tree during harvest. This would definitely make it easier to harvest and ship.

I’ve been wanting to grow an avocado from this large pit I’ve saved for weeks. It’s supposed to be very easy to make the seed sprout. You will need a large pit (seed), container to hold the water, toothpicks to poke into the seed and hold it in place. Place in a sunny location and it should sprout in 3-6 weeks.

Here is a photo from Moondragon Health and Wellness.

I think this would make for a good science experiment for kids. Or for anyone interested in growing their own avocado tree. But waiting to see it actually fruit may be a while. Good luck!

Not only good for babies, but people of all ages! From the Paradise Grove Avocados:

“The Avocado’s smooth, creamy consistency makes it one of the first fresh fruits a baby can enjoy. Sodium- and cholesterol- free, Avocados contain valuable nutrients including 8% of the recommended Daily Value (DV) for folate; 4% DV for fiber and potassium, 4% DV for vitamin E; and 2% DV for iron. A serving of Avocado also contains 81 micrograms of the carotenoid lutein and 19 micrograms of beta-carotene. Per serving, Avocados have 3.5 grams of unsaturated fats, which are known to be important for normal growth and development of the central nervous system and brain.”