Avocado

  1. The word “avocado” comes from the Aztec word ahuacatl, which supposedly translates to male testicles. Not for nothing were avocado fruits an Aztec symbol of love and fertility – they even grow in pairs on trees.
  2. At the same time, one avocado tree has both male and female flowers, and to avoid self-pollination, they grow at different times. This phenomenon is called dichogamy.
  3. The avocado is not a vegetable, but a fruit! The plant’s second name is Persea americana and it belongs to the genus Persea of the Laurel family. Avocado is a cousin of cinnamon and bay leaf.
  4. The first Europeans to eat avocados were Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. They survived in Mexico thanks to this fruit. As a result of the Spanish conquest, avocados spread to South and Central America.
  5. The name “avocado” was coined by an Irishman, Sir Hans Sloan: this is what he called the tree in a 1696 catalog of Jamaican plants. He also called the tree “alligator pear” because of the pear shape and rough texture of the peel.
  6. There are over 500 varieties of avocados grown around the world.
  7. The oldest avocado trees grow in Mexico – they are 400 years old.
  8. The leaves of the avocado tree are used to make medicinal tea.
  9. If you want to speed up the ripening process of avocados, just put them in a kraft paper bag for 2-4 days. And if you put a banana in the bag, the avocado will ripen even faster!
  10. Avocados are made up of 73% water, 15% fat, 8.5% carbohydrates (mostly fiber), and 2% protein.
  11. Contains the highest amount of fiber of any fruit: 150 grams of avocado provides 40% of the daily requirement for dietary fiber. It also contains vitamins B6, C, K, E, potassium, magnesium and folic acid.
  12. Avocados have twice as much potassium as bananas: one avocado contains 975 mg of potassium, while a banana contains 487 mg.
  13. Avocado seed and peel contain persin, a fungicidal toxin that is deadly to animals, especially cows and horses, because they can swallow the whole seed.
  14. Eating avocados daily can improve LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels in people who are overweight.