Avocado: properties, benefits and tricks to consume it

The avocado, fruit of the avocado tree (american persea), belongs to the Lauraceae family, made up of woody plants that grow in warm climates and include aromatics such as laurel, camphor and cinnamon.

Where does your name come from? Its origin is located in Central America, in the areas of Mexico, Guatemala and the Antilles. The name derives from the Aztec ahuacatl, which means “testicle”, probably due to its shape, and hence its fame as an aphrodisiac.

The Spanish called it “pear of the Indies”. It is, in effect, pear-shaped, with a hard, dark skin, and houses a single large round seed inside. The pulp is creamy, green or pale yellow in color, with a flavor reminiscent of hazelnut.

As there are so many varieties with different harvest times, the avocado can be found in the market both in winter and in summer. Currently you can find avocados from National Production and with the endorsement of organic farming.

avocado properties

The composition of the avocado makes it an extraordinary food that has more and more followers every day. The properties of the avocado are multiple:

Loaded with healthy fat

The most nutritionally curious thing about avocado is that, being a fresh fruit, its main component is not carbohydrates, but fats, which make up 23% of its weight.

And the best part is that they are the healthiest kind of fats: monounsaturated, like those in olive oil.

Rich in vitamin E

Like other fatty foods, it stands out above all for its vitamin E, which protects cell membrane and its nucleus, which can prevent the development of degenerative diseases such as cancer. About 100 g of avocado provide 25% of what is required per day.

minerals and vitamins

They also provide 22% of the daily needs of vitamin Ca bit of provitamin A and a variety of minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, copper and zinc).

avocado benefits

the avocado suitable for all seasons of life and only overweight people should moderate their intake. Due to the numerous benefits of avocado, its regular consumption is highly recommended. These are the main benefits of avocado:

1. Authentic and healthy vegetable butter

Due to the creaminess of the pulp that gives it its richness in fats, the avocado spreads easily, which makes it a healthy vegetable butter, Excellent alternative to industrial margarines.

Its nutritional composition makes it a practically essential food in the high fat plant diets, like keto.

2. Heart health

Avocado not only lacks cholesterol, but tends to reduce it in the case of being high. That is why its consumption is appropriate to prevent the appearance of problems such as atherosclerosis (lack of flexibility of the arterial walls) or coronary diseases (angina pectoris or myocardial infarction).

The unsaturated fats in avocado normalize cholesterol, lowering LDL or “bad” cholesterol and raising HDL or “good” cholesterol.

3. Recommended for athletes and pregnant women

It is a key food for those who practice sports, be they children, young people or adults. It provides very suitable nutrients for cases of muscle overactivity (especially minerals such as potassium and magnesium), as well as energy wastage (rich in lipids and carnitine, which helps its use).

Women who are pregnant, or who want to be, can turn to avocado as a complementary source of energy and folic acid, a vitamin that helps prevent premature births, as well as defects in the formation of the brain and spinal cord.

Also, by containing vitamin A, it fortifies the eyes, skin and bones of the future baby.

4. Relaxes the nervous system

Due to its richness in fatty acids, magnesium and group B vitamins, avocado is an excellent food that regulates the nervous system, which is why it is especially indicated in situations of both physical and mental stress.

5. Good for the eyes

Recent research highlights its richness in the carotenoid lutein, whose vision protective effect reduces the risk of developing cataracts.

6. Prevents wrinkles

It is also a skin friend. With the pulp, masks are prepared that help prevent wrinkles and treat dermatitis or even burns.

For Oily skin a mask is prepared with two or three tablespoons of pulp and the juice of half a lemon. Gently massage onto the face (in an upward direction), allow to dry and cleanse with lukewarm water or rose water.

Oil is also extracted from the avocado, dark green in color, which nourishes and softens the skin.

how to eat avocado

The avocado is a very unique fruit, with some Unique features that make it an excellent ally in the kitchen.

contributes smoothness and consistency to many recipes, and can be used interchangeably in the preparation of sweet desserts and savory dishes, either as fruit or as a vegetable.

Using the avocado in the kitchen is very simple, but it has the drawback that the pulp rusts easily on contact with air.

How to ripen an avocado

For the fruit to fully mature, it must be left for a few days in a dark place between 15 and 24 ºC, but you should not put it in the fridge before it matures, since this damages it and prevents it from doing so.

Avocados at room temperature they mature in 3 or 4 days. A trick to speed up the process can be placed in a paper bag along with an apple or a banana.

How to know if it is ripe

It is known that the avocado is ripe if yields to gentle pressure with your fingers, although it is preferable not to touch it too much, as it deteriorates easily.

Another way to know is shaking it gently. If you can see the bone shaking inside, it means that it is ready to eat. From that moment it can be kept in the fridge to stop maturation and keep it for a few days.

The avocado, like other tropical fruits, does not withstand very low temperatures, therefore it is not advisable to freeze or refrigerate it below 4 ºC.

Prevent it from oxidizing with lemon

To prevent it from blackening due to this oxidation, it is necessary add an acidic ingredient such as lemon or lime juice, or wrap it in a plastic film or plastic wrap that does not let oxygen through.

To peel it, the fruit is cut longitudinally with the help of a very sharp knife until reaching the seed, both halves are turned against each other, as if a container were to be opened, and separated. Then the bone is removed and the pulp is extracted with a spoon.

Avocado Butter Spread

The pulp, crushed and mixed with a drizzle of good olive oil and a few drops of lemon or grapefruit, is excellent. spread on a few slices of whole wheat bread Or some salty cookies.

you can cook

The most common way to prepare and consume avocado is raw, although, with some objections, it can also be cooked.

Recipes that include it stir-fried or baked can be found in many cookbooks. Now, most cooks prefer to add it raw at the end of cooking (many times in sauces, stews and soups) because prolonged cooking ends up giving it a certain bitter taste.

On the other hand, high temperatures can transform its delicate consistency, giving it an unattractive egg-like appearance.

Guacamole, the most successful recipe with avocado

An example of the ability to combine is guacamole, a recipe of Mexican origin made from avocado, onion, tomato, lemon and some hot spices, that can vary according to the cook.

This pairing of flavors, so popular in Central American countries, has contributed to spreading the taste for avocado throughout the world.

It can be served in appetizers, accompanied by nachos or fried corn tortillas or as a garnish for any dish that comes to mind.

In addition, avocado combines very well with eggs, mushrooms, olives (and their oil) and vegetables such as leeks and pumpkin, among others.

All kinds of creams and sauces

With avocado as a base and any of these foods, you can prepare an infinite number of very practical creams to fill vegetables and crepes or to give consistency to hot or cold soups.

Can season it with cumin, garlic, cilantro, basil or pepper that give it personality, although it is advisable not to abuse spices or aromatic plants so as not to drown out its flavor.

In the preparation of the sauces the avocado unfolds all its potential, although in this case it is convenient to choose the most oily ones.

Enough with adding a bit of pulp to a mayonnaise or vinaigrette to elevate it to another notch. Very different sauces can be created, to dress pasta dishes or dress salads, for example.

sweet friend

Its great affinity with nuts and fruits makes things much easier when creating desserts, which are delicious and very original, and can be sweetened with dried fruits, good honey or maple syrup.

In this way you can prepare ice creams, cakes, puddings and especially mousses, for which its honeyed texture is ideal.

Another way to take advantage of avocado is to add it to fruit juices, especially tropical ones, or use it as a base to prepare shakes with non-dairy soy milk, oats or, even better, almonds, Well, the avocado likes the company of nuts.

Purchase and preservation of avocado

The avocado is harvested before it is ripe. In most cases, it reaches stores still green and just matured at home.

When buying an avocado you have to check that the skin does not present black dots, stains or any sign indicating excessive ripening.

However, it should be known that a cracked skin does not always mean that it is past: some varieties have that appearance under normal conditions.

Main varieties of avocado

Up to 500 varieties are distinguished, the main of which are:

Haas, the most commercialized, with a small oval size, dark skin and yellow flesh, available all year round.Bacon, available from late fall to early spring, medium size.Cocktail or date, elongated and boneless, which is cultivated in Israel and Spain.Strong, medium or large in size, thin, dull skin, and creamy pulp, grown in Africa and SpainPinkerton, winter variety, elongated, with rough skin and small seeds, cultivated especially in Israel.