What kind of fruit is an avocado and how is it eaten
Seeing a huge green pear on the counter, everyone is interested to know: is an avocado a fruit or a vegetable? Indeed, outwardly it looks like a large green fruit. But, having tasted half-ripe avocados, you can feel the taste of pumpkin for a long time with a pronounced note of butter and a nutty aftertaste. It is impossible to meet this culture in our area, only its fruits grown for export. A heat-loving avocado absolutely cannot stand low temperatures. Unless, as a room culture, lovers of exotic plants decorate their home with it. Who is the overseas guest really, and how is he valued?
Avocado is a vegetable or fruit
Avocados grow on huge trees, which, like all laurels, are evergreen. The tree is fast growing, has a straight trunk, which branches strongly, and reaches a height of 20 m. The dark green leaves are almost the same as those of laurel. They have an elliptical shape, a pointed tip, and a dense texture. With the onset of flowering, many flowers bloom in the leaf axils. Although there is nothing to admire: the flowers are inconspicuous, small, greenish in color. They are practically invisible against the background of a bright deciduous cap.
But when it's time to harvest, the scale is impressive. Large fruits hang tightly on the branches, almost like packed bunches. They are very similar in shape to our pears. Only larger and more massive, with a dense and tough skin of a dark green color. As it matures, it darkens even more, becoming almost black. In addition, there is a large, hard stone inside the fruit.
Among other names of the culture are still found: agacat, alligator pear.
There are many types of avocados, about 500, and they can vary in size and shape. Among them there are real giants weighing more than 1.5 kg each and up to 20 cm long. Although there are also "convenient" varieties only 5 cm long and weighing no more than 50 g.
The misconception that avocado is actually a vegetable is due primarily to its original taste. The stone is surrounded by dense oily pulp of yellow-green color. There is no clearly expressed sweetness in it, moreover, the taste of unripe fruits simultaneously resembles and pumpkin, and a pear. Ripe avocado tastes like butter, with a nutty flavor.
So, we can say with confidence that avocado is a stone fruit. After all, they have not yet invented such a vegetable that would grow on a tree.
Avocado is a healthy fruit: nutritional value
All varieties of avocados are edible, and their fruits are very nutritious and healthy. They eat the creamy pulp, removing the bone and peeling the fruit from the peel.
The peel must be removed, because it contains persin, a toxin that causes severe poisoning. It is also present in the bone itself, as well as in the leaves, so the plant is dangerous to animals. Having tasted beautiful leaves or peels, they may die.
In terms of calorie content, no other fruit can compare with avocado. Moreover, it can be almost equated with meat - 100 g of pulp contains more than 200 kcal. Moreover, the bulk, up to 40%, are various fats. Protein is present in an amount of not more than 2.1 g.In terms of vitamin D content, fruits bypass even eggs and butter. Avocados can satisfy not only hunger, but also thirst, because 100 g of pulp contains 73 g of water. But carbohydrates are only 8 g, so moderately sweet fruits are very useful for those who have diabetes.
In addition, the tropical fruit is rich in trace elements such as:
- potassium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- calcium;
- sodium;
- zinc;
- iron.
Health benefits of avocado
Due to their rich and varied composition, "green pears" have a positive and healing effect:
- normalize digestion;
- improve blood circulation;
- help to stabilize blood sugar levels;
- cleanse from toxins and toxins;
- make up for the deficiency of potassium in the body, which prevents heart disease;
- stabilize blood pressure;
- lower cholesterol;
- improve hair condition;
- smooth fine wrinkles;
- strengthen memory;
- increase efficiency.
In the presence of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, especially at the stage of exacerbation, it is better to refuse avocados. An individual allergic reaction is also possible.
Scope of avocado
First of all, fruits have a high nutritional value. They are consumed mostly fresh or made into a healthy oil. It has a universal character and is used both in the kitchen and in cosmetology.
Cooking
Cut the skin off the avocado before use. The pulp is added to salads, cold snacks, vegetarian sushi filling. You can also make a sweet cream from it or use it as an ingredient for milkshakes. It turns out very tasty sandwiches and minced pulp snacks. It is simply smeared on bread or toast instead of butter. Vegetable salads are seasoned with avocado oil.
Only a few varieties of avocados can be cooked. Most of them start to taste bitter as a result.
Delicious fruits only from fully ripe avocados, but it is better to buy slightly unripe fruits. They are stored longer, and they can "reach" just in a vase. Only ripe fruits are put in the refrigerator. If there is half left, it is better to sprinkle it with lemon juice, otherwise the flesh will darken.
Cosmetology
Alligator pear oil is very nutritious and is used in many cosmetics. These are creams for dry skin, various hair masks, soaps and massage oils. It is also found in many shampoos, balms and even lipsticks.
Does avocado grow in Russia
Considering that the hot tropics are the birthplace of culture, it is easy to guess why it is not visible in our area. Avocado absolutely does not tolerate frost and will not survive in drought. It does not grow outdoors in our homeland. But if desired, the tree can be planted and grown in the house as an ornamental pot culture. Or settle in a heated year-round greenhousewhere it is warm, humid and a lot of light.
The tree needs cross-pollination to get a harvest of useful fruits.
You can grow an avocado from a store fruit by planting a seed. Before that, it must be germinated in one of three ways:
- Immediately planting it in the ground. Moreover, only the lower wide side of the bone is deepened, and not completely.
- Germinating first in water. To do this, make 3 holes in the bone from different sides and insert matches into them. Then the seed is placed on a glass of water in such a way that the seed is not in the water, but above it. When the halves open and roots appear, it is rooted in the ground.
- Wrapped in damp cotton wool with further planting in the ground after germination.
If the avocado is planted directly into the ground, then it is advisable to remove the seed shell. This will speed up its germination.
Alligator pear needs a fertile and drained soil. She is also very demanding on lighting and moisture, does not like drafts. In winter, it can be kept in a light cool so that the leaves do not crumble so much. Although avocado is an evergreen crop, it differs in leaf fall.Fallen old leaves are replaced by young foliage. Often the reason for the incessant leaf fall is too small a pot. The peculiarity of the avocado is its long root, which needs tall dishes.
I just love avocado in all its forms! A source of healthy fats! Can be used in cooking and in soups, salads, appetizers, even desserts! Avocado ice cream is very tasty!