Yes, that’s me just a few weeks ago holding a Butter Avocado that was just picked from a huge tree in Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. We drove to an over look and while there chatted with a group of park worker-fellows who were doing trail maintenance. (Covering up to a dozen miles a day carrying gas and a weed whacker…supermen!) As they rested a bit, one pulled out a 30-foot collapsible fruit picker and proceeded to harvest these special fruits……… and generously gave one to me. “It won’t ripen for a week or so,” he told me. Alas! We were leaving the next day so what to do? What any red-blooded gal would do: I mailed it home! Please don’t tell on me. I’m anxiously watching it on my counter…

There are 7 to 15 varieties of avocados, depending on what source you consult. Mexico is the top producer of these fabulous fruits and ships most of their crop to the U.S. The variety Hass is the one we see most regularly in our markets.

If you wish to sprout your avocado pit and grow your own tree, it’s possible but will take up to six years to produce fruit and then only if conditions are right.

Did our ancestors enjoy avocados? “The avocado made its way to the Land of Liberty in 1833 and enjoyed moderate popularity where avocado farms existed, such as California, Florida and Hawaii. People in other areas of the country largely avoided avocadoes until the 1950s when the fruit became a supporting actor in delicious salads. Part of the reason for people’s avoidance of this delicious fruit was due to the long-standing reputation of avocados as an aphrodisiac, which made the fruit taboo among the conservative American public.” (From www.avocadosfrommexico.com/avocados/history )