The ultimate avo quiz.
How much do you really know about Australia’s favourite fruit?
We sure know our fair share about avos – with more than 30 years growing them, we guess we should! But how does your avo trivia fair? We’ll put you to the test – read on!
1. Where do avocados originate and what does the word ‘avocado’ mean?
The Aztecs discovered the humble avo way back in 500 BC and named it āhuacatl, which translates to ‘testicle’. Who would have thought? Our guess is that they were real inspired by an avo’s shape and the way it grows in pairs. Really makes you rethink ‘smashed avo’ though, doesn’t it?
2. In what year did the first avocado arrive on Australian shores?
The first avos arrived in seed form to Australia in 1840 and were planted at the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens. Neat huh? We started growing ours in Pemberton in 1988 and never looked back but why would we - there’s no better place to grow avos.
3. An avocado tree takes how many years to produce fruit?
You should see your avo tree start to bear fruit after around five years but if you just plant the seeds, well that's gonna take a whole lot longer. You might not see an avo for five or up to thirteen years even.
We started out with just a wee five hectares of avo trees on our orchard in Pemberton. Today? Well, there are more than 340 hectares of the beauties - that’s around 180,000 – 190,000 avo trees.
4. True or false - Avocados only start to ripen once they’re picked.
True. You can keep avos on the tree for as long as 18 months without them ripening. Their flavour will mature but it’s not until we climb up to pick each one off their branch that they actually start to ripen. Our Delcados are slow-grown for a deeper flavour, so we leave each one on the tree for 12 to 16 months.
5. Which fruit helps stop a cut avo from turning brown?
A little lemon or lime juice on the flesh will seal in that green goodness. Cover with cling wrap and store in the fridge for a rainy day, or Mexican night. To keep a whole avo for longer, pop it in the fridge for two to three days or until you’re ready to use it.
The beauty of Delcados is that they arrive on supermarket shelves at least two times faster than imported avocados, so they have less time to deteriorate and you get a better-quality avo. You’re welcome.
6. Which other fruit helps an avo ripen?
If your avo hangs out with an apple or a banana in the fruit bowl, it’s gonna ripen faster. Why? Well, both fruits have a naturally occurring plant hormone called ethylene which triggers the process. If you’re keen to make guac, pop them all in a brown paper bag for even faster ripening.
7. BONUS QUESTION: Which crustacean loves feasting on avocados?
Ever heard of marron? They’re a freshwater crayfish that are abundant in our neck of the woods and they love avos almost as much as us Aussies. We’ve got a whole lot of them living in the pristine freshwater dams across our orchards. Lucky things get to feast on all our leftover avos.