The loveFOOD guide to avocados

Avocados: only eaten by 25% of the British population, can you believe. In an effort to encourage consumption, here's a load of wonderful facts and figures about our favourite green fruit.

Where are they from?

80% of avocados sold in this country are Peruvian Hass avocados. They’re produced in orchards along 8,000 hectares of plantations in the fertile coastal region of Peru, and are available in this country from May to September.

You can easily identify a Hass avocado by their knobbly skin, which darkens as the fruit ripens.

Five fun facts about avocados

1. Latin Americans spread avocado on their toast as a healthy alternative to butter. How do we know? Well, Julio Muñoz, the Peruvian Ambassador to the UK, told us when we joined him at an avocado afternoon tea hosted by The Dorchester recently (here we all are, on the left).

2. The UK eats only 0.5kg of avocado per capita, which is much lower than France (1.5kg), Australia (2.5kg), and America (3kg).

3. Avocados also go by the name of ‘alligator pear’, because of their alligator skin texture.

4. The Aztec word for avocado was ahuacatl, which means ‘testicle tree’ (guffaw!)

5. One avocado tree can produce between 150 and 500 fruits per year.

Five super healthy facts about avocados

According to market research conducted by Red communications, part of the reason why Brits aren’t buying avocados is because we think they’re not good for us. Au contraire…

1. Avocados contain 11 of the 13 known vitamins.

2. Half an avocado counts as one of your five a day.

3. Avocados contain ‘good’ fats (cholesterol-lowering monounsaturated fats) and only 137 calories per half.

4. Avocados have the highest protein content of any fruit, which is why they keep you feeling full.

5. There is no cholesterol or salt in an avocado.

…so there, haters!

How to ripen and prepare avocados

To ripen

The skin of a ripe Hass avocado should be black in colour and will yield to gentle pressure. Unripe, firm and green avocados can take up to five days to ripen at room temperature.
You can speed up the ripening process by placing your avocado in a paper bag along with a banana for two to three days, and storing at room temperature.
To slow down the ripening process, put your avocado into the fridge.

To prepare

Cut all the way around the avocado stone, lengthways.
Twist the two halves of the avocado apart.
Use a spoon to scoop out the stone, or carefully take it out by jamming a sharp knife into the stone and lifting.
Score along the skin, and peel off in strips.

What to make with avocado

avocado We like them au natural: take one half and drizzle in olive oil and balsamic, before diving in with your spoon. And at The Dorchester, our avocado afternoon tea included vanilla peach jelly with avocado sorbet and avocado foam (pictured left), and a mini cone of avocado and lime ice cream!

Our recipes

Alternatively, try one of our recipes below. Oh, and remember to save the skin! You can use the peel as a moisturising face mask – simply apply to your skin using the inside of the peel and rinse off after 15 minutes.

Avocado Caesar salad

avocado Smooth, creamy chunks of avocado work well with classic Caesar salad ingredients. Make your own croutons by baking cubes of ciabatta in the oven with olive oil and sea salt - they're much better than the ones you can buy! Drizzle your salad in a garlicky, anchovy dressing.

Smoked salmon and avocado salad

salad Delicate slices of avocado matched with prawns and slithers of smoked salmon, then dressed in a ginger and lime vinaigrette. Lay the smoked salmon on 2 plates, then cut each avocado half lengthways into slices, and arrange on top of the smoked salmon, with the prawns.