The avocado and the history of the avocado
The original name of the avocado is alligator pear. The name avocado comes from the Nahuatl word ahuacatl, which incidentally also means 'testicle'. Sometimes the avocado when ready to eat is also called solange.
The tree originated in Peubla, Mexico. Avocados grow on the Persea Americana, what we call an avocado tree. Meanwhile, avocado trees are also planted with us in Spain ;), in Central and South America and in Africa.
The avocado tree can grow very tall, up to 20 meters in the wild. In plantations, like ours, the trees are pruned after harvesting so that the next season the avocados do not hang too high in the trees to harvest :).
The avocado tree does not tolerate cold very well, so the trees are mainly planted in warmer climates. There are different varieties of avocados and avocado trees, one does better in colder or in just warmer climates. We distinguish three varieties:
- The Mexican variety (up to -8 degrees),
- The Guatemalan variety (down to -4 degrees),
- The West Indian variety (up to -4 degrees).
The varieties can be crossed with each other. However, there are still differences between the varieties in terms of flowering season, size and growth period of the avocado.
Of the up to 400 different cultivated forms, 4 varieties are very popular in the Netherlands:
- Fuerte
- Ettinger
- Hass
- Nabal
There are no avocado tree plantations in the Netherlands, but the avocado is available year-round in the Netherlands. Avocados are imported from several countries. A very important exporter of avocados is Mexico. A certain period (from May to December) avocados are also imported from Africa and South America (Chile and Peru) and from September to May from Israel. Four out of every five avocados that arrive at the port of Rotterdam are re-exported by the Netherlands to other countries within Europe. So big business!
Our Hass avocados come to you directly and fresh from our avocado trees. No middlemen, no artificial ripening process, no mafia influences and no pesticides. We pick and ship, you pick them up. When you adopt your own avocado tree with us, you benefit from your own harvest!