The History of Avocados

The avocado has been around for a very long time, in fact, as far back as 291 BC. They are thought to have taken root in the highlands of Central America and Mexico and the lowlands of Columbia, where they grow wild.

They were transported to Europe in the 16th century after the Spanish conquistadors invaded Mexico and Peru, while sometime later English sailors of the 1800’s used avocado as butter on the long voyages from England to Australia usually purchased from the markets in South America en route.

Both Cook and Phillip used avocado during their epic voyages of discovery and settlement. The avocado first officially found its way to Australia in seed form in 1840 and was planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney. Today some hundreds of years later avocado orchards can be found throughout Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia and Tasmania.

The main varieties grown are Hass, Fuerte, Reed, Sharwill, Shepard and Wurtz, with the most dominant being Hass which accounts for 75% of the Australian market.

The Kendall Farms Range

Wurtz Avocado - this popular evergreen variety is ideal for the home gardener, self pollinating and dwarf like, growing to only 2.5metres high, yet produces an abundance of top quality fruit with a thin, shiny skin and small seed. It boasts good consistent flavor and is well respected in the avocado community!

Rincon Avocado - this variety is a thin, tender green skinned fruit with a pear shape. It has a large seed with smooth skin and some fruit have a small neck and a flat bottom closely resembling the Fuerte variety. The tree is a consistent and heavy bearer with proper care.

On the ABC's Gardening Program on the of 8th June, a leading avocado grower on the Sunshine Coast was asked what the best varieties of avocadoes were for the home gardener. He answered with Wurtz, Rincon and Bacon. This was because of their consistency, ease of maintenance and quality fruit ratios, and also the ease of which both Wurtz and Rincon could be grown in pots. KENDALL FARMS stock Wurtz and Rincon...our range are known as Condo Avos.

Cultivation Notes

Maturing from June to December, these few notes are important to growing your avocado in a pot or the ground. It certainly isn't rocket science. They need a warm, sunny position, sheltered from strong prevailing winds in areas that are frost free. Well drained soil is a necessity as avocado is very susceptible to root-rot fungus which thrives in poorly drained soils (which makes them ideal for pots because of the control and their size as a tree).

This fungus Phytophthora cinnamoni is the major and most common cause in the failure of avocado growing. They dislike ‘wet feet’ and heavy clay soils which makes Wurtz an ideal container specimen with potting mix. Mulch your avocado tree with large pine bark chips but do not allow the mulch to touch the trunk of the tree. Young trees first planted need protection from direct summer sun-then gradually sun harden.

Avocados like water and may need watering daily during the summer by soaking the soil then allowing it to dry out before watering again.

Health Benefits

Avocados act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta carotene, in foods that are eaten with the fruit. One-fifth of a medium avocado or about one ounce is 55 calories, but provides more than 25 essential nutrients including fibre, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins, folic acid as well as beneficial phytochemicals such as glutathione, beta-sitosterol, and lutein. Phytonutrients are thought to help prevent many chronic diseases.

Avocados can help consumers meet the dietary guidelines of the American Heart Association, which are to eat a diet that is low to moderate in fat. The fats should be primarily unsaturated and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. The avocado is virtually the only fruit that has monounsaturated fat.

Interesting Facts

Avocados are sodium and cholesterol free and have only five grams of fat per serving, most of it the monounsaturated kind. Avocados were once a luxury food reserved for the tables of royalty, but now avocados are enjoyed around the world by people from all walks of life. In one year, a single avocado tree can absorb as much carbon as is produced by a car driven 26,000 miles. Latin Americans wrap avocados up and give them as wedding gifts.

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AVOCADO SPREAD

Here is a healthy and tasty spread alternative to butter or margarine developed by RMIT in Melbourne. It really is delicious.

Ingredients

2 avocados, skinned and seed removed, chopped

100g natural yoghurt

1/4 cup lemon juice

white pepper, pinch

20 ml olive oil

Method

Place the avocados, yoghurt, lemon juice, pepper and olive oil in a blender and process until smooth.

Notes

Spread on your favourite bread or biscuits. To make this an even higher energy food add an extra 1/4 cup olive oil.

CRISPY TURKEY CRANBERRY AND AVOCADO PIZZA

Ingredients

1 piece of lebanese bread

100mls pizza sauce, or BBQ sauce

1 Avocado, sliced into thin wedges

1/2 Spanish Onion, sliced

1 cup deli-style double-smoked turkey breast, sliced

6 cherry-size buffalo mozzarella balls, torn in half

100mls cranberry jelly

1 handful of grated mozzarella cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to about 220 degrees.

Spread the sauce over the lebanese bread and then arrange the turkey strips, spanish onion, avocado and buffalo mozzarella balls on top. Arrange half-teaspoon size blobs of cranberry jelly and then top with 1 handful of grated mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes or until base is nice and crispy.

AVOCADO LIME PIE RECIPE

Ingredients

1 cup sieved avocado pulp.
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk.
1 teaspoon grated lime zest.
1/2 cup fresh lime juice.
2 egg yolks.
1 pinch salt.
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie.

Method

1. Combine sweetened condensed milk, lime zest,
lime juice, lightly beaten egg yolks, and salt; blend until mixture thickens. Stir in avocado pulp. Pour filling into pie shell.

2. Chill pie for several hours. Garnish with whipped cream, and serve.

For more info on Australian avocados check out: http://www.avocado.org.au