Avocados
Flavour Profile
Rich, buttery and subtly nutty with a grassy finish. Because of their high fat content, avocados act as a neutral canvas that carries other bold flavours like lime, chilli and salt.
Health Benefits
Avocados are mostly good fats — the kind that are sensible for your heart. And a fair bit of potassium, which keeps your nerves ticking over and your blood pressure in check. Don't overthink it; just eat the damn things.
Buying Tips
Choose avocados that feel heavy for their size. Give them a gentle squeeze in the palm of your hand rather than poking with your thumb, which causes bruising.
If it yields to soft pressure, it's ready. If the little stem nub flickers off easily to reveal green underneath, you've found a winner.
Storage
Keep rock-hard avocados on the counter to ripen. Once they are soft, move them to the fridge to hit the pause button on the ripening process.
To stop a cut avocado from browning, squeeze over some lemon juice or press cling film directly onto the green flesh to block out the oxygen.
Cooking Uses
Best served raw to preserve that delicate fat. Smash it on toast, slice it into salads, or blend it into a dressing.
If you must cook it, keep the heat quick and light. Grilled avocado halves are great, but overcooking them can turn the flesh bitter.
Forkin' Food Theory
Avocados are a "biological anachronism".
They evolved to be eaten whole by now-extinct giant ground sloths, whose massive digestive systems could handle the huge stone.
The sloths would wander off and poop out the seed, essentially acting as the world's most effective prehistoric gardeners.
Without human intervention to keep farming them, avocados would have died out with the ice age giants. Every time you make guacamole, you're eating a survivor from a lost world.