it is avocado season, and we've been doing a lot of things with this buttery, delicious fruit. While the Hass avocado is the most widely known variety, there are many varieties of avocados, some you've probably never heard of!
Bacon avocados are medium-sized oval avocados with green skin that is easy to peel. They have a light taste and are available from late fall to early spring.
Fuerte avocados were the original California avocado. They have a strong flavor, thin green skin that is smooth, and are medium-sized. Pear-shaped. Available fall to spring.
Gwen avocados are similar to Hass avocados in that they have the same pebbly skin, but they are bigger and greener, and have a stronger flavor. Their skin is thicker than other varieties. Available mid-September through mid-January.
Hass avocados are the most widely sold variety of avocado and are available year-round. They are smallish in size, oval-shaped, with dark purple, pebbly skin that peels off easily.
Pinkerton avocados are pear-shaped, tall, and have a dark green skin with slight pebbling and thick texture. Available in winter, this variety has a small seed for its size.
Reed avocados are available from summer to fall. These avocados are round-shaped and medium-sized, with thick green pebbly skin. The flesh is very creamy, with a milder taste.
Zutano avocados ripen earlier in the season and are usually the first avocados to market. Available from September through early spring, they have a yellowish-green skin that is thin and shiny. They are medium-sized and pear-shaped. They are a little harder to peel than other varieties and have a light taste.
Mexicola avocados are small and have thin black skins that are edible. Smaller than most other avocado varieties, Mexicolas are oval in shape, frost-resistant and have a lot of flavor. Available from Sept-Oct.
Related:
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(Images: California Avocado Commission and The Produce Guide)
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My mouth is watering just thinking about avocados.
I spent the weekend picking MacArthur avocados (very creamy) in Santa Barbara for Backyard Harvest (www.backyardharvest.org). The orchard had recently sold, so the current crop had not been commercially harvested but needed to be picked to ensure next year's crop. Several thousand pounds went to local food banks for distribution.
I adore avocados! Fellow avocado enthusiasts should check out this Magic Avocado Print on Etsy! It's so cute :)
http://www.etsy.com/listing/53487194/5x7-magic-avocado-print
Err...here's the link!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/53487194/5x7-magic-avocado-print
I heart avocados and am lucky to live in California where they can easily be found for a song (2/$1 is not uncommon).
I seriously had no idea! Thanks for the round-up!
That's funny... had a cold lunch of avocado & raddichio (lemon, olive oil, dijon vinaigrette with minced shallots) over cold thinly sliced roast beef for lunch, and made soft tortillas filled with grilled chicken and guacamole for the kids this dinnertime. It has been a divinely avocado day!
@thespottedfox - really, you think your own artwork is "so cute :)"
How come the Hass avocado I had for my lunch today had much greener flesh and a much darker pit than is shown in that picture? is it because I live far away from where they're grown? Or is it Photoshop? (All but one of those avos look the same on the inside!)
It's worth noting that avocadoes are not interchangeable in recipes.
For example: Reed's will make very watery, awful guacamole, but stay firm and hold their shape on sandwiches and chunked in salads.
@roar - thank you for pointing that out.
@The Spotted Fox - ugh, please don't do that again.
Thanks for the run-down! Does anyone have info on the large, bright green, smooth skinned avocados commonly found in South Florida grocery stores?
my favorites are the bacon and fuerte avocados--soooo rich and creamy. i actually do not like most hass avocados, but the other varieties are generally only found at farmer's markets.
i dont know what kind of avocados i've been buying... but for the last month or maybe more, i've bought some ugly avocados. they look fine on the outside, but after i cut it open, they have nasty brown spots on the inside! just nasty looking, so i throw them away. i've thrown away at least 5 avocados during the last month. very disappointing. i've almost lost hope on all avocadoes for the rest of the summer.
@adventurat I've seen avocados with lighter flesh like that (but YUM to the deeper green ones!), but I totally agree with you on pit color. I have NEVER seen a yellow pit. They're usually brown, close to how the Mexicola's pit looks.
Reed avocados are totally my boyfriend this summer. I'm in love!
I absolutely love avocados. Most of my local grocery stores only carry Hass, so I had no idea there were so many varieties. I want to search them out! I have an avocado in my lunch salad today. Yummy!
I bought a strange avocado last week but I can't tell from this list what kind it was. It had bright green skin and kinda looked like a small papaya. The inside was much less creamy than a typical avocado - it made for terrible guacamole, and the flavour was almost (this sounds crazy but it's true!) like a kiwi. Any ideas?
Avocados are banned from the houses of we parrot owners. :(
@FoodNotFuss - That sounds a lot like the avocado we just got from the grocery store here in Miami. I see them everywhere here, they're smooth, bright green, and really large. I wish I knew more about it.
bacon avacados have Greek skin?
@FoodNotFuss and Mrs. Puma those sound like avocados we get in the Caribbean, sometimes called Pear. The taste is not creamy but watery and are commonly eaten with breakfast in the Caribbean. I'm not sure what the official name is.
I realize this is an older article - but I just found it today. Hope its OK to note that we have a website that SELLS unusual avocados. We call them "heritage" avocados - and your purchase helps us save small local farms and ranches, helping them keep these varieties in their orchards. Visit us at www.avocadodiva.com Thanks so much!