Add National Avocado Day on July 31 to your menu of delicious food holidays to celebrate. Avocados are so versatile you can use them for everything from appetizers to main dishes.
- 8000 BC – Archaeologists have found evidence that wild avocados were gathered and eaten in central Mexico.
- 3000 BC – Researchers believe that Mesoamerican tribes like the Inca, the Olmec and the Maya grew domesticated avocado trees.
- 500 BC – Having grown wild for thousands of years, avocados were likely first cultivated in Mexico.
- 750 BC – As mummies are often buried with possessions they might need in the afterlife, some Incan mummies dating back to this time in Peru have avocado seeds buried with them.
- 16th Century – Having been native to Mexico, the fruit spreads through Central and South America before it is taken back to Spain, its first introduction into Europe.
- 1696 – Naturalist, Sir Hans Sloane, names “the avocado or alligator pear-tree” in his catalog of Jamaican plants
- 1833 – Horticulturist, Henry Perrine, first plants avocados in Florida.
- 1935 – The Hass avocado is the most popular varietal of avocado and is named after postal worker Rudolph Hass, who purchased the seedling in 1926 from a California farmer and patented it in 1935
- 1950s – Avocados become commercially available in the U.S., with people mostly adding them to salads.
- 1969 – The Apollo 11 astronauts brought guacamole to space with them! However, they did not eat it, since, according to Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, “that pig Buzz Aldrin ate all the chips before we even left earth.”
- 2015 – Musician Jack White’s recipe for guacamole, which was included as part of his contract for performing at the University of Oklahoma in 2015, was obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request from the university.
- 2017 – At the height of avocado toast’s popularity, more than 3,000,000 photos of avocado toast were uploaded to Instagram every day during the summer of 2017.
- 2017 – Americans spent about $900,000 a month on avocado toast.
- Originating with the Aztecs in Mexico, guacamole is an avocado-based sauce. It’s become popular in American cuisine as a dip, condiment, and salad ingredient.
- Cinco de Mayo celebrations feature guacamole as a staple snack. As a result, avocado sales have soared to 30 million pounds on those two days each year.
- 53.5 million Pounds of avocados are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.
- 11.8 is the depth, in feet, of guacamole consumed if it were spread across the football field on Super Bowl Sunday
- The Haas avocado does not ripen until harvested (off the tree).
- Avocado competes with buffalo wings and pizza as The Superbowl Food, thanks to a successful marketing campaign by avocado growers over the past 2 decades.
- A whole avocado contains 200-300 calories and is a good source of vitamins A, C, E, and B vitamins, as well as fiber and potassium.
- Move over bananas. Avocados are higher in potassium, which is great for cardiovascular health.
- Mashed avocado with banana and olive oil makes a great hair-conditioning paste. Mash it up with some olive oil, honey and yogurt and you have an ideal facial mask. Dry up the pit and grind it up with some avocado flesh and salt to create an exfoliating foot scrub. Treat yourself!
- Mash an avocado with some olive oil, honey and yogurt and you have an ideal facial mask.
- Dry up the avocado pit and grind it up with some avocado flesh and salt to create an exfoliating foot scrub.
- Because it’s a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary, the avocado is a berry.
- The Aztec word for avocado was ahuacatl, which means “testicle tree”.
- Spanish explorers could not pronounce ahuacatl, so they called the avocado, “aguacate.” This is the origin of the word guacamole.
- A little over a century ago, Americans called avocados “alligator pears.”
- More avocados are eaten in Los Angeles than any other US city.
- The avocado extract may also help relieve arthritic pain.
- Not only does avocado do wonders for your insides, but it’s also great as a facial mask.
- Another skin perk: avocado oil may accelerate wound healing.
- There are 1,062 varieties of avocados.
Sources:
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
