On Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:12:46 -0800, "Paul M. Cook" >
shouted from the highest rooftop:

>
>I live in SoCal. Almost every house has a avocado tree. The house I grew
>up in had one, too. Avocado trees are kind of a attractive nuisance around
>these parts. Many a avocado poacher has been pulled out of somebody's yard
>in the wee hours of the morning whilst purloining the treasured fruit.

I grew up in Santa Monica. Our house was the only one in the
neighbourhood with an avocado tree. But that was because my step-dad
was the son of a man who worked with Luther Burbank and Dad not only
inherited b his love of plants, but a green thumb that turned our
large backyard into a lush garden with oranges, lemons, limes,
avocados, loquats, and even bananas, as well as herbs, vegetables and
flowers.

It was both a surprise and a disappointment to discover that not
everyone was raised with fresh fruit and salads.

The avocado tree Dad planted was from Guatemala and grew to be a great
size. Its avos weighed from one to three pounds - or more - were
round, like cannon balls and rich, smooth and buttery. We called them
Gorilla Balls.

The only avocados since then that even came close to their rich
buttery taste, texture and oil content were grown on the Haleakala
slopes of Kihei, Maui, Hawaii - but they were smaller (which is an
advantage when thinking of one's weight).

They weren't available in supermarkets, but if I wasn't given them, I
could buy a box at Azeka Store for around two dollars (dolahs) for a
couple of dozen.

I've only encounter the "Reed" variety in New Zealand, but they may be
available elsewhere. It's also round, like a cannon ball and can weigh
up to a pound and a half, maybe two and is very rich, smooth and
buttery. Surprisingly, they store well in the fridge and I've kept
dozens on tap for six months after the end of the season.

When I got my first "adult" job in high school as a boxboy at Fireside
Market on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica there were no avocados
available in supermarkets. My mom used to take one of our avos and
fill the halves with shrimp and her special seafood sauce. If she was
in a hurry, she'd just drizzle lemon juice on the top. My mouth is
watering.

After I'd graduated, was attending Santa Monica City College and
working as the weekend produce manager at Fireside Market (what later
would be called a boutique food market) we were one of the first to
sell avocados that were sourced from Mexico or the developing avocado
growing areas around Escondido.

They were always picked too early and didn't not ripen properly. It
took several years for the growers, wholesalers and retailers to learn
what made a good avocado and I'm not sure that many of them still do.

Avocados are one of my passions. I love to eat them, grow them and
share them with others. For a while in the mid-80's, I even conducted
avocado workshops in Auckland to introduce them to the market there.

Speaking of which, I ate the rest of the tuna salad left over from our
rather erratic Christmas day lunch/dinner with a half a Haas avo and
some steamed asparagus (with my yogurt/mayonnaise/ketchup/wasabe
sauce) tonight. They were delicious.

Eat well ... and often.



--

una cerveza mas por favor ...

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