A mainstay of Mexican food, the avocado is well loved for its creamy texture and fresh flavor. Many varieties of avocado exist but the Hass variety is the most common in North America. California is by far the largest producer of avocados in the United States.
It's not surprising that a fruit as creamy and tasty as the avocado is also high in fat compared with other fruits. The good news is that the fat in an avocado is mostly monounsaturated fat, the "good" fat that does not raise cholesterol levels. Avocado oil is even available as a healthy gourmet oil for use in cooking.
Avocados can fit easily into a nutritious diet. Use the soft flesh the same way you would use butter or nut butters. Or, add avocados to salads, sandwiches, beans, rice or simply add salt to mashed avocado and spread on bread for a quick snack.
Along with the healthy fats, avocados are high in fiber and rich in several nutrients including vitamin E, vitamin K, folate and potassium. Compare avocados to another healthy high fat food ? nuts. A 2 tbs. serving of avocado contains about 50 calories, 5 g of fat and 2 g of fiber while the same amount of peanut butter contains 180 calories, 15 g of fat and 2 g of fiber.
Avocados also contain many types of phytochemicals, compounds in plants thought to play a role in human health. The carotenoid lutein, an antioxidant thought to be important to eye health, and beta sitosterol, a plant sterol that may help improve your blood cholesterol profile, are both found in avocados. A recent research review showed that the phytochemicals in avocados may be important in cancer prevention.
What to Look for
Some varieties like the Hass avocado turn dark or almost black when ripe. Other varieties may remain green even when ripe. For all varieties, avocados are ripe when the fruit gives to light pressure. Avocados that are too ripe will feel like the flesh of the fruit has pulled away from the skin, leaving the skin dimpled.
You can purchase avocados before they ripen completely. Just put them in a paper bag and let them sit for 2 or 3 days. Add an apple or banana to the bag to speed ripening.
Common Pitfalls
Although you can test avocados for ripeness, you never know whether you'll get brown and stringy fruit rather than smooth and creamy. The best bet is to stick to a variety of avocado you've enjoyed in the past and eat the fruit in season, generally in the spring and summer.
As with most foods, keep your avocado dishes healthy by preparing your own guacamole or avocado spread at home. This way, you can add lots of healthy ingredients like tomatoes and control the level of salt and other less healthy ingredients. Plus, prepackaged and restaurant guacamole might contain a lot less avocado than you expect!
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