Avocado is a tree originally form Mexico and Central America and was brought to Europe in the 19th century.

The name of the fruit, avocado, comes from spanish – agucate – which means ‘testicle’ (because of it’s shape). The avocado tree is also known as ‘the tree with testicles’.

The avocado fruit is oval and looks like a pear. It’s color is dark green or brown and it has a big kernel inside. When i bought my first avocado fruit i threw the kernel away. I was sorry afterwards because you can easily plant it and grow a nice avocado tree. It won’t be taller than 2-3 metres but for an appartment it’s perfect. You can also grow your own avocado fruits. The tree just needs lots of light and little water. Once every 3-4 days is you wet it it’s perfect. The fruits will appear after a few years but until then the avocado tree would be a nice decorative plant.

The mature fruit must be a bit heavy and easily pressed. If you bought a raw avocado fruit don’ worry. You can leave it in room temperature for a few days. If you already cut the fruit and decided to keep it in the fridge, wet it with lemon juice so it wouldn’t oxidize. The fruit pulp is yellow and creamy – you can grease it on bread. Don’t try to taste the fruit as it is – it’s gross. The fruit’s peel is not eatable.

From the avocado kernel avocado oil is made. Avocado oil is used in cosmetics.
Avocado is also useful for people who have heart problems. For a healthy skin use avocado masks.

In spite the fact that it’s very healthy for humans, animals mustn’t eat it because it’s toxic for them! If you have cats, dogs, parrots… keeo them away from the fruit. It can be deadly if they swallow it.