A Bad Rap
Call it chauvinism, patriotism, elitism -- or any of a crop of other -isms -- but it's not unusual for states, cities or regions to affix their names to their produce. Most of the time, the names don't mean all that much to the average consumer beyond indicating the area of origin. But when it comes to California avocados, you might want to pay attention.
The bad news: California avocados -- Hass avocados, which refers to their variety -- are higher in fat and calories than Florida avocados, at about 35 grams of fat and 384 calories per cup, compared to 23 grams of fat and 276 calories for their Florida counterparts, according to Mary Wilson, registered dietitian and extension nutrition specialist with University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.
The good news: The California ones are lusher, according to Julie Upton, registered dietitian and a spokeswoman for the California Avocado Commission.
"If you taste the avocado from Florida, it's a drier-tasting, less creamy avocado because it has a lower oil content," Upton said.
And here's more good news: The fat that's in avocados is -- wait for it -- actually good for you.
Wilson noted that avocados have a reputation for being high in fat, especially compared to other fruits and vegetables. And it appears that that reputation is justified, as that's where they get 70 to 88 percent of their calories.
"But the fat is the healthy one -- monounsaturated, similar to those in olive oil," Wilson said. "Foods that are high in monounsaturated fat are helpful in lowering blood cholesterol. So we've always viewed it as a healthy food."
Well. How great is that -- a high-fat food that's actually good for you? Well, yes and no.
"Unless you don't have to worry about calories, you probably shouldn't eat an avocado every day," Wilson said.
That's because fat, healthy or not, contains a lot of calories. And no matter how healthy that fat is, it'll still pack on the pounds. Wilson remembers from her days as a young dietitian a client who was trying to lose weight. Wilson advised her to eat more fruits and vegetables. But when the woman made a return visit, she had gained weight, and insisted that she'd just been following Wilson's advice.
"She'd been eating like five avocados a day," Wilson said. "That's when you learn those blanket statements sometimes come back to bite you."
But just because you need to watch your caloric intake doesn't mean you have to give up avocados. The key, Wilson said, is to use their calories as a substitute for another, less healthy source of fat.
"Certainly, avocados can fit into a healthy diet," she said. "It's a lot healthier to have avocado on a salad and maybe low-fat Italian dressing than to have regular dressing, or a cup of potato salad with mayonnaise, or certainly than having a hamburger or something like that." Other ideas are to substitute avocado for the cheese, ham or mayonnaise on your sandwich, or cheese or bacon on your salad.
"Using them to reduce other fats is a wonderful thing to do," Wilson said.
And she said if you don't need to watch your weight, there isn't necessarily a need to limit your intake of those healthy fats.
Which might explain recent research that shows a demographic shift in the biggest consumers of avocados. Jan DeLyser, vice president of marketing for the avocado commission, said they'd long tracked light users (up to 12 avocados in the household per year), medium users (12 to 26) and heavy users (37 to 120), but now have identified a "super user," whose household consumes 120 avocados or more in a year -- more than two a week.
And while the commission had always targeted women ages 25 to 54, researchers found that the super-users are more male, more affluent, younger and ethnically diverse.
Something else that's changing is how Americans are eating their avocados.
"The typical way people become familiar with avocados is they're introduced to them through guacamole," DeLyser said. But in 14 years of tracking it, the commission had found that consumer usage has become increasingly diverse. The most recent study found that 63 percent of respondents eat avocados plain, 66 percent on a sandwich or burger, 77 percent in salads, 82 percent in guacamole, 90 percent as part of a Mexican dish and 88 percent as part of a non-Mexican dish. In food service, she said, avocados are being used in meals in every part of the day.
One of the latest trends, she said, is grilled avocados.
"Use a firm, ripe avocado, but not too ripe," she said. "It's just matter of putting a little olive or avocado oil on it, putting it on a hot grill for a few minutes. It just kind of sears in the flavor. It really brings out a nice flavor and texture.
"It's a very versatile fruit."
Here are some recipes that illustrate that versatility.
AVOCADO EGGS BENEDICT
12 English muffins, split
24 slices Canadian bacon or ham, fried
24 eggs, poached
6 California avocados
6 cups Hollandaise sauce (prepared from a recipe or mix)
Toast muffin halves. Cover each half with 1 ounce bacon or ham, 1 egg and 1/4 avocado, sliced. Top each half with 1/4 cup Hollandaise sauce. Serve immediately.
Serves 8.
-- Recipe from the California Avocado Commission
AVO-TINI
1/2 cup lemon-flavored vodka
2 tablespoons simple syrup
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Fresh California avocado slices for garnish
Avocado Pearls as needed (made with a fresh avocado and small melon scoop)
Combine vodka, simple syrup and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously; strain into a martini glass.
Garnish with avocado wedges and pearls.
Serves 2.
-- Recipe from the California Avocado Commission
CRAB SALAD IN A HALF SHELL
1 pound crab meat, cooked and shredded
2 fresh California avocados, seeded, peeled and diced
1/4 cup lime or lemon juice (divided use)
1/2 cup ripe olives, sliced
1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped
11/2 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper, to taste
Lettuce, as needed
4 fresh avocados, halved and seeded
In a large mixing bowl, blend together crab meat, diced avocado sprinkled with 1 tablespoon lime juice, olives, green onion, dill and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Prepare avocado half-shells by generously drizzling with 3 tablespoons lime juice to prevent browning and to enhance flavor.
Arrange lettuce leaves on individual salad plates. Place an avocado half-shell on each plate of lettuce and fill with one-eighth of the crab mixture. Serve.
Serves 8.
-- Recipe from the California Avocado Commission
CHILLED AVOCADO GAZPACHO
2 pounds or about 5 small Florida avocados, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (divided use)
3 cups chicken broth (divided use)
1 cup half-and-half or cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Shrimp for garnish (optional)
Cilantro for garnish (optional)
Avocado slices for garnish (optional)
Combine avocados, jalapeno, red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons lime juice and 1 cup broth in a food processor; process until smooth.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and whisk in the remaining lime juice, broth, half-and-half, salt, pepper and cilantro. Chill.
Serve garnished with shrimp and/or cilantro and/or avocado slices.
Serves 4.
-- Recipe from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
GUACAMOLE
4 ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup diced (1/4-inch) red onion
2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
2 teaspoons finely minced jalapeno
Coarsely mash the avocados with the lemon juice and cumin in a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
Makes 4 cups.
-- Recipe from Parade magazine
AVOCADO AND
CRABMEAT SUSHI
1 cup white short-grain rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry Sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 avocado (preferably California)
Fresh lemon juice for rubbing the avocado
3 8-by-7-inch pieces of toasted nori
1/2 cucumber, peeled and cut lengthwise into 8-by-1/4-inch strips, discarding the seeds
About 1/4 pound fresh king crab meat, thawed if frozen, picked over and drained
Wasabi to taste for the sushi, plus additional as an accompaniment, if desired
Soy sauce as an accompaniment
Pickled ginger as an accompaniment, if desired
To make the rice: In a large, fine sieve, rinse the rice under running cold water until the water runs clear with no milky residue and drain it well. In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the rice with 11/4 cups water, bring the water to a boil and simmer the rice, covered tightly, for 15 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove the pan from the heat, let the rice stand, covered tightly, for 10 minutes, and transfer it to a jelly-roll pan, spreading it in an even layer. Keep the rice warm, covered.
In a saucepan, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, Sherry and salt; simmer until the sugar is dissolved, and let it cool. Sprinkle the rice with as much of the vinegar mixture as necessary to moisten it lightly, tossing it carefully, and cover it with a dampened cloth. (Do not chill the rice.) The rice may be made 3 hours in advance and kept, covered with the dampened cloth, at room temperature.
Peel and pit the avocado, rubbing it with the lemon juice, and cut it into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
Heat the nori in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes or until it is softened slightly, and keep it warm. Working with one sheet of nori at a time and with a long side facing you, spread about 3/4 cup of the rice in an even layer on each sheet, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the long sides. Arrange some of the avocado strips horizontally across the middle of the rice and arrange some of the cucumber strips and the crab meat on top of the avocado. Dab the crab meat with the wasabi and, beginning with a long side, roll up the nori tightly jelly-roll fashion. Cut each roll with a sharp knife into 3/4-inch-thick slices and serve the rolls with the soy sauce, the additional wasabi and the ginger.
Makes 24 to 30 pieces.
-- Recipe from Gourmet magazine
AVOCADO GELATO
2 cups whole milk (divided use)
3/4 cup sugar (divided use)
3 (4-by-1-inch) strips fresh orange zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 firm-ripe California avocados (1 to 11/4 pounds total)
1 (500 milligram) vitamin C tablet, crushed to a powder
Bring 13/4 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, zest and a pinch of salt to a simmer in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Whisk together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk into simmering milk. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, and boil 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a metal bowl, then set bowl in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and cool completely, stirring frequently. Discard zest.
Quarter, pit and peel avocados, then purée with vitamin C and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add milk mixture and blend well.
Freeze avocado mixture in ice-cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until hardened, about 1 hour.
Notes: The crushed vitamin C tablet is the trick to retaining the bright green color of the avocados without affecting their flavor.
The ice cream can be made 1 week ahead.
Makes about 1 quart.
-- Recipe from Gourmet magazine
AVOCADO SALSA
2 large tomatoes, seeded, diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 to 2 large jalapeno chilies, seeded but not deveined, minced
1 large avocado, diced
Combine first 6 ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt. (Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Add avocado to salsa just before serving.
Makes about 4 cups.
-- Recipe from Bon Appetit magazine
Contact reporter Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0474.
