What Are Avocados & What Do They Look Like?
Avocados are berries that grow on trees in warmer climates but are believed to be native to Mexico.
Avocados have a creamy and smooth texture and are covered by bumpy, thick, dark green or blackish skin.
Avocados are commercially valuable and cultivated in tropical and Mediterranean climates throughout the world.
Their value is so high that they are commonly called Green Gold
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What Kind Of Fruit Is An Avocado?
Avocado is by many considered a vegetable, but others regard it as a fruit. Botanically it’s classified as a large berry with a single seed.
It is a very nutritious fruit, continuing all kinds of vitamins and minerals that we all need.
You can plant the seed you find in the avocado. But I’m sorry to say that it probably won't produce any avocados. But if nothing else, you'll have a nice house plant!
Avocados are not the only fruit you might think is a vegetable. Several fruits are commonly mistaken for vegetables. Like, tomatoes, pumpkins, olives, and zucchini.
The difference between a fruit and a vegetable
The botanic difference between fruits and vegetables is that fruits and berries originate from plant parts that develop from flowers and contain seeds.
Vegetables on the other hand originate from plant stems, leaves, and roots.
Do Avocados Come From Mexico?
It is believed that avocados originated in south-central Mexico.
Evidence has been found in a cave in Mexico, which reveals that avocados were used as far back as 10,000 years ago.
It is also believed that avocado tree cultivation began as early as 5,000 BC. approximately.
The Spaniards brought the first avocado tree to Europe in 1601.
Among all the fruits and vegetables that the Spaniards brought home from the New World were avocados that took the longest time to become popular.
What about nowadays?
North and South America are world leaders in growing avocados. But in Central Europe, they sell most avocados grown in southern Spain, Israel, Mexico, and South Africa.
Are Avocado Toxic?
Avocados contain a fungicidal toxin called Persin. But luckily, is it completely harmless to humans.
However, it is toxic to many animals. So do not share your guacamole with your pet-friends.
Persine is toxic to animals like birds, rabbits, cows, goats, horses, pigs, sheep, and fish. When it comes to cats and dogs can get an upset stomach after ingesting persine.
What Does An Avocado Look Like?
Avocados have a green-skinned, fleshy body that commonly appears as pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical.
But did you know that there are over 400 different types of avocado? They differ in size, color, and taste.
The most common avocado is the pear-shaped one, named Hass.
Inside an avocado, you'll find a big brownish core surrounded by the flesh that's light green near the middle and becomes darker green as you move outwards from the center.
Overripe avocados have more yellow flesh than perfectly ripe ones.
Why are avocados called alligator pear?
Avocado is sometimes called alligator pear
. Have avocados got that name because of what they look like or the legend about the name? I think we’ll never know.
Some say that the name comes from how an avocado looks. Its wrinkled, rough green skin, of some cultivars, looks like alligator skin.
Others say that when cut in half, the pear-shaped variety looks like an alligator eye. Which also implies that the name can come from them.
But there is a legend about the name alligator pear
. Telling it was a misunderstanding that the name came to be.
According to the legend, the word for avocado was avogado pear
. This word got translated wrong. This name resulted in Alligator Pear
.
If this is true or not, we can not know. But even if it was an accident, the nickname fit perfectly.
Fun Fact About The Name Avocado
The word avocado comes from the Spanish word Aguacate
. The Spanish word derives from āhuacatl
- and that word comes from the ancient Aztecs.
The word āhuacatl
also meant testicle. Isn't that interesting? Well, take a look at the shape of an avocado, admittedly it has some resemblance to a testicle?
Catholic priests long considered avocados to be sexy
fruit and forbade their parishioners to eat the fruit.
Conclusion
Avocados are fancied by many. It is a nutritious superfood. But there is a lot of history and exciting facts about this green, tasty fruit.
That there are 400 different kinds of avocado was a surprise to me. It means that there are many new varieties of avocado for me to explore!
I also find the different stories about the avocado-name interesting. Or that catholic priests regarded avocado as sexy
. Not sure I would agree there, would you?
