HEALTHY INGREDIENT
Avocados are a heart healthy fruit.
AVOCADO
By S. MICHAL BENNETT Photography By JOEL RINER
N ative to south-central Mexi - co, consumption of the wild avocado – or ahuacatl in Na- huatl – dates back to around 7,000 B.C. It was domesticated in Peru by 750 B.C., and ancient cultivated av- ocado plant scraps have been found at an 11,000-year-old archeologi- cal site in Honduras. The El Gigan- te site was an ancient trash dump, and archaeologists found 1,725 avo- cado fossils, including rinds and pits, that showed how the fruit changed in shape and size over time and cul- tivation. The fruit’s rinds got thicker, their pits became larger, and creamy flesh became more plentiful. The name “avocado” is an English- language adaptation of the Span- ish conquistadors’ term for the fruit, “aguacate.” The first mention of the
word “avocado” was in 1696, and the first avocado trees were brought to California in the 1870s. Today, San Diego, Calif. produces 90% of U.S. do- mestically grown avocados, but Mex - ico is still the world’s largest avocado producer, having harvested 2.9 mil- lion metric tons, 30% of the world’s production, in 2023. In my small corner of the world, people either love or hate avocados. I know in my household, the senti- ment is 50/50. I love them and can eat them straight off the pit. The av- ocado has also been getting some at- tention recently within the seed oil health debate, which promotes avo- cado oil alongside olive oil as a health- ier cooking oil. Simply put, seed oils are extracted, pressed, crushed and refined from seeds, such as canola,
corn, sunflower, pumpkin, chia, ses - ame or peanut. The results are satu- rated fats that are used every day to cook, fry, grill, sauté, marinate and dress foods. Nutrition studies do show that pro- cessed, unsaturated fats that are liq- uid at room temperature, as in seeds oils, are associated with higher levels of LDL cholesterol and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Seed oils are also high in Omega-6, which, when combined with healthy doses of Omega-3, can be healthy. Avocado oil is a high-heat cooking oil alternative that is pressed from the flesh of the fruit. It’s rich in heart-healthy mono- unsaturated fats as well as antioxi - dants and vitamin E. With a smoke point of 500°F (260°C), it can also be used for frying, although the price
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