Top 10 Avocados Nutrition facts and Health benefits

Selection and storage

Avocados can be readily available in the market year-round. Buy medium-sized, completely ripe fruit with a pleasant aroma. Gently press the fruit to check its readiness for consumption.

Avoid very hard fruits as they may take quite some time to ripe. On the other hand, avoid buying excessively soft, ripe fruits as they tend to be mushy and out of flavor. Look carefully for any surface cuts, blemishes, and bruising and if so, avoid them.

Once at home, keep them in a fruit basket, stored in a cool, dark place. Unripe fruits usually placed in a paper wrap with a ripe banana or apple to speed up their ripening.

Preparation and Serving methods

Avocado has a delicate nutty flavor, buttery texture, and neutral taste. To eat, cut the fruit lengthwise through its center all the way around the seed. Then rotate or twist the halves in opposite directions and gently pull them apart. Scoop the seed using a spoon. Gently peel the skin with your fingers, beginning at its stem end. Cut the flesh into desired cubes using a knife.

Sprinkle or rinse cut sections of the fruit in lemon juice to prevent enzymatic brown discoloration.

Photo courtesy: The essential vegetarian cookbook from Thunder bay press.
Here are some serving tips:

• In many parts of Central America, the avocado enjoyed “as it is” with some added pepper, lime juice, and salt.

• Its sections or cubes can be added to vegetable/fruit salads, salsa, etc.

• Mashed avocado employed in the preparation of Mexican polenta and pancakes. Guacamole is a favorite avocado based Mexican dip.

• Similarly, guasacaca is a Venezuelan variant of guacamole salsa prepared using vinegar instead of lemon juice.

• Pureed, it may be mixed with ice-cream, shakes, and fruit juices.

Safety profile

Raw, unripe avocados are rather highly concentrated sources of tannins. High tannin content makes them bitter and unappetizing. Also, too much tannin content in the food inhibits the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the gut.

Although very rare, eating avocados may result in allergic symptoms in few latex-sensitive persons. The symptoms may include itching in the throat, hives, runny nose, breathlessness, etc. Often, these symptoms are mild and self-limiting. (Medical disclaimer).

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Further resources:

1. Persea americana– Purdue horticulture university.

2. USDA National Nutrient database