Avocado memories

They say that you start to value things more when you don't have them anymore. That's pure wisdom. I remember when I was growing up in Mexico surrounded by avocado trees I never paid much attention to it, of course I have always loved avocado, but now that I'm hundreds of miles away from my beloved avocado trees I wish I had eaten avocado everyday for all those years.

image taken from this website

See, avocado is a fruit tree native to Central Mexico and it grows in a subtropical climate - so, not in Europe -, therefore it is a bit difficult to find good avocado over here. Especially in Italy, since it is not a part of any typical Italian recipes, and we all now how traditional Italians can be with their recipes :)
The avocados you normally find here in Italy come from Israel or South Africa and they are different from the ones in Mexico - and much more expensive!
Also, back home I never paid much attention to the ripening process, having the trees and the marketplaces, there was never a problem to find a ripe, ready to eat, avocado. But here, I've learned to always buy the avocados in the supermarkets (the few ones that sell them) at least 3 days in advance and then let them ripe at home, wrapped in paper and left inside the oven (once I forgot I had left the avocado in the oven and turned it on, after a couple of minutes I started smelling burnt paper... but that's just me, I forget stuff!). There are only few street markets in Milan where you can buy avocados that are ripe enough and ready to eat the same day - among them there's my favorite Isola market - so it's better to buy them in advance and let them mature. You'll know they are mature when they are soft to the touch (but not too soft).

image take from this website

Apart from it's delicious flavor, avocados are also good for you because they are full of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients (which serve as antioxidants and help your immune system), so what are you waiting for? Go get your avocados! Perhaps you may want to buy this little gadget we found:

Avocado slicer - from amazon.com

If you need recipes, more nutrition facts and tips, visit this great website: http://www.theamazingavocado.com