Alexander Gushchin
I can’t vouch for the taste, but it will be hot :)
Content
In Russia, avocados are known not as an outlandish product, but as an ingredient for preparing various dishes and snacks. As soon as they called it: agacat, aguacate, alligator pear. The fruit grows on a tall tree, and its properties have a beneficial effect on the circulatory system: it prevents the formation of cholesterol in the blood.
What is avocado and how do you eat it?
How to eat avocado? The exotic fruit is eaten ripe. This is the only way to saturate the body with all the vitamins it contains. When purchasing, pay attention to whether it has been sitting for a long time? The fruit is sold in stores in vegetable/fruit or exotic food departments. Many people are interested in the question, how do they eat avocados? It’s very simple, just cut the fruit in half and remove the pit.
How to choose an avocado
Agacate fruits are brought to the country and regions from Mexico, Israel, and Spain. To deliver fresh produce to stores, they are often picked unripe. How to choose the right avocado? The first thing to do is to press the skin of the fruit with your fingers. If it is hard, the avocado is not ripe. In this case, the fruit should be left to ripen at a temperature of 25 degrees. The soft surface of the fruit, dark spots, dents indicate that it is unsuitable for consumption. The correct size for an avocado is up to 10 cm.
What to eat with
The fruit does not have a characteristic taste, and this is its advantage. It goes well with other products. How to eat avocado correctly? There is agacat like an apple, i.e. a separate product is considered not very appetizing, so you can make an exotic sandwich. Grate, add cheese and garlic, season with mayonnaise or cut pieces of salmon and place into slices - first the fish, then the avocado strips.
Can avocados be eaten raw?
Agacate is properly eaten raw. The bizarre green fruit can be prepared in a variety of ways: grated, chopped, added to pancakes, or eaten with meat products. In all these recipes, the avocado is eaten raw: cut, pitted, and peeled. The raw fruit is added to salads. An excellent recipe is making avocado broth.
How to clean
If you want to taste an exotic fruit, you need to peel the avocado. Forget about how to peel a banana - agacat does not need to be peeled and then cut. Unpeeled avocados are easier to slice. After you have washed the fruit, you need to cut the fruit in half, discard the pit, and scoop out the pulp with a spoon.
What to cook with avocado
How to use avocado? You can quickly prepare a wide variety of foods from this exotic fruit. Dishes with avocado have colorful names: guacamole (Mexican snack), tortillas. You can cook stuffed avocado, cut it into sushi, add it instead of eggs to cocktails. How to prepare a culinary sensation? Make an exotic sauce!
Snack
Recipe 1. Beetroot and avocado mille-feuille
- Number of servings: 2.
- Purpose: cold appetizers.
- Cuisine: Georgian.
An avocado snack recipe with a photo can help out at the most opportune moment. The folic acid in this dish helps improve protein metabolism. Beets contain a complex of minerals: potassium, chlorine, sodium and magnesium.
Ingredients:
- beets - 2 pcs.;
- agacat - 1 pc.;
- low-fat yogurt - 1 jar;
- vegetable broth - 100 ml;
- parsley - 1 bunch;
- lime juice - 1/2 pcs.;
- salt - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Boil the beets, peel the agacat and chop.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add half the broth with yogurt.
- Cut the beets into slices.
- Grind the greens in a blender, adding the remaining parts of the broth and yogurt, and salt.
- The mille-feuille dish is built in layers.
Recipe 2. Avocado snack
- Cooking time: 10 minutes.
- Number of servings: 4.
- Calorie content of the dish: 48 kcal per 100 g.
- Purpose: snack.
- Cuisine: Georgian.
- Difficulty of preparation: easy.
Healthy dressing can often be eaten instead of bad fast foods. Exotic food made from agacat is eaten with croutons and slices of bread. A vegetarian appetizer looks festive even on an everyday table. Goes great with chicken broth and can be garnished with a sprig of parsley on top.
Ingredients:
- natural soy sauce – 2 tsp;
- olive oil – 4 tsp;
- lemon juice – 2 tsp;
- agacat – 1 pc.;
- ground pepper – 1/4 – 1/2 tsp.
Cooking method:
- Make a spice mixture.
- Peel the agacat, divide into two halves.
- Place each on a board and cut crosswise to make wedges.
- Drizzle well with a mixture of lemon juice, soy sauce and olive oil.
Soup
- Cooking time: 1 hour.
- Number of servings: 2.
- Calorie content of the dish:
- Purpose: dietary
- Cuisine: Georgian
- Cooking difficulty: easy
Who said that a diet has to be strict or not tasty? Make a choice towards a healthy dessert. It would be better to eat soup with avocado and experience an excellent alternative to the languid process of losing weight. With such a delicious dish, you won't notice when you started dieting. It is better to choose only olive oil, it is healthier and has fewer calories.
Ingredients:
- chicken breast – 200 g;
- bell pepper – 1 pc.;
- olive oil – 30 ml;
- salt - to taste;
- onion – 2 heads;
- hot pepper – 1 pod;
- water – 1.5 l.;
- agacat – 5 pcs.;
- lemon juice - from 1 pc.;
- coriander - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Place the meat cut into small pieces in a pan with water.
- Place over medium heat and cook the meat for half an hour.
- Cut the peppers and onions into half rings. Place in broth.
- Remove the meat.
- Bring the vegetables to a boil, add the agacut pulp, pour in the juice and coriander (10 minutes). Grind.
- Cooking time: 30 minutes.
- Number of servings: 3.
- Calorie content of the dish: 54 kcal per 100 g.
- Purpose: first courses.
- Cuisine: Georgian.
- Difficulty of preparation: easy.
Guests will remember this unusual dish by its green color and delicate taste. Vegetarian soup contains fats, protein, vitamins C, D, group B. There is practically no sugar, it is excellent for baby food. Quickly prepared broth will replenish your energy, keeping it throughout the day.
Ingredients:
- avocado – 1/2 pcs.;
- chicken broth – 0.5 l.;
- potatoes (medium) – 160 g;
- lemon juice – 2 tbsp. l.;
- dill – 50 g.
Cooking method:
- Place diced potatoes in broth (0.4 l).
- Let it boil and cook for 20 minutes.
- Pour lemon juice over the chopped agacat and pour in 0.1 liter of broth. Grind.
- Add chopped herbs to the potato broth.
- Grind in a blender to a puree consistency.
- Add avocado puree and stir.
- Cook for 3 minutes.
Salads
From orange
- Cooking time: 15 minutes.
- Number of servings: 2.
- Calorie content of the dish: 50 kcal per 100 g.
- Purpose: for breakfast.
- Cuisine: Georgian.
- Difficulty of preparation: easy.
What will happen if you combine two delicious fruits – agacat and citrus fruits – in a fresh salad? Avocado in salads combines with a more pronounced taste, and if you add pine nuts, you get a whole feast. Fennel is an umbrella pharmaceutical dill, in online stores it costs about 35 rubles. The recipe below describes a quick way to prepare an unusual product.
Ingredients:
- oranges – 1 pc.;
- agacat – 1 pc.;
- fennel – 1/2 pcs.;
- green salad - to taste;
- lemon juice - to taste;
- sea salt - a pinch;
- ground black pepper - to taste;
- pine nuts – 40 g.
Cooking method:
- Pour lemon juice over thinly sliced fennel, agacat and orange and sprinkle with salt.
- Place on a plate like this: lettuce, fennel, orange and avocado.
- Mix everything, add pepper and nuts.
With salmon
- Cooking time: 20 minutes.
- Number of servings: 3.
- Calorie content of the dish: 55 kcal per 100 g.
- Destination: for lunch.
- Cuisine: Georgian.
- Difficulty of preparation: easy.
What should a person do when he comes home tired? Find in advance a quick recipe with a photo “how to eat avocados.” Salad with agacat and salmon will complement your diet for the whole day. Regular consumption of fish replenishes the deficiency of phosphoric acid, which is beneficial for the skeleton. Agacate can be peeled and eaten: the pulp has a beneficial effect on the liver. The salad goes well with cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients:
- agacat – 1 pc.;
- lightly salted salmon – 200 g;
- feta cheese – 100 g;
- eggs – 3 pcs.
Cooking method:
- If you took agacat with peel, then you need to peel the fruit.
- Crumble the cheese.
- Divide boiled eggs into yolks and whites.
- Grate the yolks, cut the whites into cubes.
- Finely chop the fish.
- Place agacat, cheese, fish, and the contents of eggs on a salad plate.
- Lightly salt and pepper, adding mayonnaise.
Avocado is a storehouse of nutrients. It contains vitamins, microelements, fats and unsaturated acids necessary for the body, thanks to which they are broken down and do not turn into deposits on the waist. Avocado successfully replaces meat for vegetarians, and helps young ladies lose weight to lose extra pounds. However, in order to enjoy these green fruits, you need to know how to eat avocado correctly.
Photo by Shutterstock
Avocado is a fruit, but if you taste its flesh, it will not be sweet at all. Greenish, fatty and oily, avocado has a green and nutty flavor. It’s rare that anyone manages to fall in love with these fruits the first time. If this didn't work out for you either, don't worry. Try a small piece of avocado a second time, a third time, and you will find that you now find that strange taste pleasant.
Many people prefer to eat avocados raw. Make a longitudinal slit in the fruit and then rotate the halves in opposite directions to separate the fruit neatly. Now you can remove the seed and use a dessert spoon to scoop out the aromatic pulp. If you are not satisfied with the pure taste of the avocado, try salting it or drizzling it with olive oil, lemon juice, soy sauce, Tabasco hot sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. The result is a delicious dietary dish.
If you want to put a half-eaten avocado in the refrigerator, sprinkle it with lemon juice or sauce. The fruit will not darken
Avocado Recipes
There are many delicious and incredibly healthy dishes with avocado. Pay attention to the dish guacamole, which was popular among the Indians. Take the pulp from two or three avocados and mash it until mushy, sprinkle it with lemon juice and olive oil, add salt and black pepper. Add finely chopped three or four tomatoes, onion, and cilantro to the avocado. Those who like it “hot” can also add a splash of hot sauce. This dish serves as an excellent side dish and can also be eaten as an appetizer.
One of the most popular recipes with avocado is avocado salad with shrimp. To prepare it you will need:
2 avocados; - 250 grams of peeled boiled shrimp; - 12 cherry tomatoes; - 150 grams of arugula; - olive oil; - balsamic vinegar; - lemon juice; - salt.
Wash, dry and chop the arugula. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Peel the avocado, cut into halves, remove the pit, chop into strips and sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine the chopped ingredients with the shrimp in a bowl and prepare the dressing by combining a small amount of olive oil with vinegar, salt and black pepper to taste. Season the salad and mix thoroughly. The dish is ready to be served, but if you wish, after placing the salad on plates, you can add grated Parmesan to it.
Avocado, the beneficial properties of which not everyone knows, is a fruit that was found across the globe many years ago, when it was grown by the Aztecs; today it is cultivated in Israel and Mexico, Africa, the USA and Brazil. This plant grows well in conditions of warmth, light and moisture, on fertile soil, does not tolerate wind, and can even be grown indoors.
The pulp of the ripe fruit is light yellow in color, tender and soft. Depending on the variety and degree of ripeness of the fruit, its peel can be either smooth green or lumpy black or dark green.
The avocado fruit, which has a calorie content of 245 kcal per 100 grams of product, contains nutrients and does not contain fat or sugar, which is why it is often included in various diets. Avocado contains oleic acid, which prevents it from appearing in the blood by breaking down what is already present. Avocado also contains biologically active substances that rejuvenate the body. The fruit of the plant contains a lot of potassium and calcium, phosphorus and sodium, magnesium and manganese, and other minerals. There are also a number of vitamins here: C, A, PP and D, a group of B vitamins, and in terms of the amount of vitamin E, which protects cells from aging and enriches them with oxygen, the fruit is superior to many others.
The pulp of the ripe fruit is used in cooking in the preparation of snacks, sandwiches and salads, most often sprinkled with lemon or lime juice, this avoids the process of oxidation and deterioration of the taste and appearance of the avocado. Avocado goes well with poultry, red fish and even. Please note that the fruit should be consumed raw, and it is better to add it to dishes last, since peeled, it quickly darkens. The most famous dish in the world involving avocado is a Mexican snack called guacamole, its main component is puree from the famous fruit. In addition, avocado is also used in vegetarian cuisine, here it is used as a filling for sushi and as an alternative to meat and eggs.
The avocado fruit is also used in perfumery. There is a drug that was created based on the oil of this fruit. This medicine helps in the treatment of periodontal disease, arthrosis, scleroderma and Paget's disease. Elderly patients actively use this drug for decalcification and eczema.
The beneficial and harmful effects of avocados on the human body. How to choose and eat avocados?
Avocado is notable for its beneficial properties, in particular, it has a beneficial effect on a number of human organs. This fruit improves memory, reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases, this is facilitated by the polyunsaturated fatty acids it contains. Their presence protects the body from the development of atherosclerosis, and potassium, which the avocado contains, improves the proper functioning of the heart muscle, restores the body’s water-salt metabolism to the required level, and increases stress resistance. This fruit is also useful for those who have high blood pressure, because it lowers this indicator.
This fruit contains copper, which prevents the development of anemia, as well as iron, a very important hematopoietic element. Both elements are perfectly absorbed by the body. Vitamin B2, which is found in avocados, is involved in the formation of red blood cells. Benefits avocados and the entire digestive system, helping with delicate problems such as constipation.
Unfortunately, avocados, the benefits and harms of which are inseparable, can also cause damage to the human body in case of individual intolerance and in the presence of food allergies. It is also undesirable for nursing mothers to use it. Remember that the seeds of this fruit contain toxic substances that cause harm to the body, so the fruit of the plant must be selected and consumed correctly. When buying an avocado, look at its appearance and weight - the fruit should be heavy and hard, it ripens at room temperature within 2 days. Inspect the peel - there should be no damage, stains, cracks or dirt. If dark spots are visible, this indicates that the fruit is overripe.
As for how avocados are eaten, everything is simple. To peel the fruit easily and quickly, you need to make a cut along the diameter of the fruit, with the knife touching the pit. After this, divide the fruit into 2 parts, twisting it slightly; when the fruit is ripe, this does not cause any difficulties. Then you need to carefully cut out the bone and take it out, making another small cut on each half from top to bottom. After this, carefully pull the peel, it separates easily - now you can enjoy the juicy taste.
Growing avocados at home
You can try growing avocados at home. After eating a fruit, do not throw away its seed, but plant it. It’s not a fact that you will get fruit, but you are guaranteed a beautiful tall plant. First you need to germinate an avocado, for this you need a seed, a glass of water, and toothpicks.
You need to insert toothpicks into the pit on 4 sides, and the punctures should be made symmetrically, in the middle of the pit. Place the seed in water until it reaches the punctures. Now you just need to wait, after some time the seed will sprout. As soon as this happens, it should be planted with the blunt end in the ground, and the sharp end should remain at soil level. To grow an avocado, you need to maintain a temperature of 18 degrees; it grows very quickly.
Benefits of avocado for humans
Avocado is good for treating dry and damaged hair, caring for children’s skin and mucous membranes, stimulating nail growth, preventing the appearance of stretch marks and helping to get rid of them. This fruit also provides protection against the development of cancerous tumors, protects the liver from poisonous and toxic substances. It can be used for hepatitis and diabetes, low and high stomach acidity. Avocado is shown as a general strengthening and restorative remedy for severe infectious diseases.
Avocado and oils based on it are used in cosmetology to protect the skin, increase its elasticity, firmness, and oxygen saturation. These products treat various damages and help in caring for problematic oily skin. Vitamins A and E, contained in large quantities in avocados, have a good effect on the skin, smoothing out fine wrinkles and reducing the size of inflamed areas from acne, eczema and psoriasis. The fruit of this plant contains mannoheptulose; it has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, eliminating the feeling of fatigue and irritability, drowsiness, increasing concentration and performance.
Recipes with avocado in cosmetology
Avocado face masks, the recipes for which are discussed below, moisturize and soothe the skin, nourish and heal it. You can prepare a mixture for dry skin - you will need avocado puree from half the fruit and vegetable or olive oil. Mix the ingredients, apply the mask to your face, leave for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with warm water. You can use the mixture for oily skin, for this you will need 1 tbsp. l. fruit puree, 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice and egg white. Mix the ingredients and apply to the skin for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off the mask with cool water.
To restore shine and strength to your hair, you can use an avocado mask. To make it you will need the pulp of half the fruit and olive oil. If your hair is oily, you will also need 1 tbsp. l. . Apply the mask to your hair, leaving it for half an hour. The mixture should be washed off with warm water and shampoo.
Avocado and traditional medicine
To treat enterocolitis, which is accompanied by diarrhea, chronic colitis and dysentery, you can use avocado decoction. For this, 1 tbsp. l. dry leaves of the plant need to be filled with 1.5 tbsp. hot water, then simmer over low heat for 8-10 minutes, then wrap well and wait until the broth has cooled. The infusion should be filtered and consumed warm, 0.5 cups half an hour before meals. The course of treatment is 30 days.
You can eat avocado to improve and restore health. To do this, it is recommended to take 1 tsp of plant oil. one hour before meals. The course of treatment is 20 days. For periodontal disease, use applications from a mixture of peach and avocado oils in a 1:2 ratio.
Avocado in cooking: delicious and healthy recipes
From avocado, recipes using which are very diverse, you can make delicious, but so healthy dishes. For example, health jam - to prepare it you need avocado, honey and prunes, all in equal proportions. Dried fruits need to be soaked and chopped, the avocado is peeled and softened with a spoon. Everything is mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained and transferred to a glass container. The jam should be stored in the refrigerator, consumed for medicinal purposes 3 times a day after meals, and once a day before bedtime for preventive purposes.
You can prepare an interesting salad from avocado with pink salmon, for this you need an avocado fruit and 200 g of pasta, canned pink salmon 100 g, 4-5 pcs. fresh tomatoes. You will also need 100 g of olives and 3 tbsp olive (or vegetable) oil. l., 3 tbsp. l. lemon juice, as well as salt, and lettuce - to taste. Cook the pasta, rinse it, add a little olive oil, take out the pre-cooled avocado, peel it and cut it into pieces. Divide the pink salmon into small slices, mix the pasta with the fish, add tomato slices and olives. All this needs to be seasoned with oil and sprinkled with lemon juice, season and salt, and spread on lettuce leaves.
The question of food compatibility is of great interest to me. How to get the most out of them? Avocado – this is a treasure trove of benefits, especially for the female body. Therefore, I try to eat it as often as possible. I will be happy to share my recommendations on how to what to eat avocado with.
What is avocado
Avocado is a fruit trees from the Laurel family, which grows in tropical and subtropical climates. Depending on the scientist's point of view, avocados are called both fruit and berries.
Interestingly, the Aztecs gave the avocado the name “huacatl”, which, translated from their ancient language, means "forest oil".
For many people, avocado remains something exotic, despite the fact that it is sold all year round. It is supplied to Russia from hot countries. There is more 400 species Avocados, unfortunately, are not available here.
What does avocado go with?
Unripe fruits are dark green in color and hard to the touch. This avocado tastes like a pear or pumpkin - there’s not much that’s pleasant about it. But ripe fruit - pale green in color and soft skinned, - has a taste of pine nuts and butter.
There is no point in subjecting avocados to heat - this will cause the fruit to lose all its beneficial properties. The ideal option would be to add avocado to salads.
An excellent ally for avocados will be:
- any vegetables(it is believed that combination with tomatoes is a prevention against cancer);
- other fruits;
- greenery(lettuce leaves promote better absorption of healthy fats);
- complex carbohydrates(thanks to them, the process of nutrient absorption is significantly accelerated);
- dairy(milk fat goes well with the fats contained in avocados);
- seafood(protein from the meat of shrimp, squid or mussels will be absorbed by the body more fully thanks to avocado).
Avocado will become heavy food for the body in combination with:
- beef, pork and lamb meat;
- oils(healthy fats of different origins are absorbed much better separately);
- sweets(sugar will make it difficult to absorb healthy fats).
What are the benefits and harms of avocados?
Avocado peel and pit contain the substance - persin, dangerous to humans. The result of its entry into the body will be - allergic reaction or food poisoning.
What it lacks in distinct taste is more than made up for useful substances, which avocados are so rich in.
These substances have the following effects on our body:
- normalization of water-salt balance can be achieved thanks to potassium;
- oleic acid removes excess cholesterol;
- polyunsaturated acids improve memory;
- vitamin E gives beauty to hair and youthful skin.
People, sick diabetes mellitus, they can include avocado in their diet, because it contains completely no sugar.
For me the ideal combination is avocado with shrimp or squid. The salad is very tasty made from fresh vegetables, blue cheese, pear and avocado. But you can come up with your own combinations! Experiment and don't be afraid to add something exotic to your dishes.
Most likely, everyone is familiar with avocados, at least in absentia. Even those who have not yet had a chance to taste avocado have probably never encountered funny puns and other jokes on the Internet or in conversations with friends that play on the name of this exotic fruit. His name does sound a little unusual, but even more fun is the nickname avocado, common among English-speaking people. They are accustomed to calling an avocado nothing more than an “alligator pear” for its external resemblance to both the first and the second. The second most popular meme associated with avocado, for Russian-speaking people for a long time there has been a dilemma: is avocado a “he” or an “it”? How to correctly call it when purchasing and/or describing a recipe. And finally, the top three is completed by the sacramental question of what is an avocado: a vegetable or a fruit?!
We will definitely touch on all these, although not vitally important, but very fascinating topics today. And at the same time, let’s talk about how to eat avocados correctly in order to fully appreciate both its taste and nutritional qualities. Let's touch on the history of the cultivation and cultivation of avocados, which will help you understand why these fruits are so in demand all over the world. Let’s not ignore how to eat avocado raw and why it should be eaten in this form. And, of course, we will share useful practical tips on choosing, processing, and using avocados. And all so that you can see how important this fruit is and how necessary it is in the diet of everyone who is attentive to their health. Taking care of your well-being, prolonging your youth, visual attractiveness and just a good mood - all this can be easily achieved by regularly eating avocados. But to do this you need to eat the avocado raw. You will soon find out exactly how.
Composition, properties and benefits of avocado
In order not to test your curiosity, let us immediately inform you that avocado is not a fruit or a vegetable! It's a berry! It grows tall (up to 20 meters), with leathery leaves on a slender tree and, when fully ripe, reaches from 5 to 20 centimeters in length and from 50 to 1800 grams in weight, depending on the variety. In total, about 400 varieties of avocado have been bred and successfully grown to date, and the most “hardworking” of them are capable of producing up to 2 centners of fruit on one tree. Each berry, regardless of size and weight, is like two drops of water similar to the others - and literally similar to a drop too: oblong, slightly thickened on one side, thick green to brown on the outside, covered with a dense leathery skin. The pulp under the avocado skin is much lighter, but also greenish in color, soft and oily due to its high fat content. Hidden in the very heart of the fruit is a large seed, sometimes occupying up to half the volume of the berry. This is how the Aztecs first met the avocado in the forests of Peru, admiringly called it “huacatl” (in an adapted translation - “forest oil”) and already three thousand years BC began to diligently cultivate fruit-bearing trees. As a result, today avocados of various varieties and sizes can be bought at any food market around the world throughout the year, and they are grown and exported mainly by tropical countries in Africa, as well as Brazil, Israel and some American states.
This popularity of avocado is, of course, not accidental, and is due to its high nutritional value. With a relatively low production cost, avocados are widely used in a variety of industries: from cooking to cosmetology and medicine. In this case, only the pulp is used, and the peel and pit of the avocado are removed during the cleaning process. Moreover, the seeds, leaves and stems contain toxic substances that cause allergic reactions in humans and mammals, including anaphylactic shock. Therefore, valuable avocado oil, contrary to the popular stereotype, is extracted not from the seeds, but from the pulp. Dense, but very pliable under mechanical influence, it contains extremely little protein and is practically devoid of carbohydrates, but one third consists of vegetable fats, nutritious and easily digestible even by a child’s body and a weak digestive system. Thanks to this, avocados are often included in the diet to reduce cholesterol levels, normalize fat and general metabolism, and in the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The calorie content of avocado is not too high, about 160 kcal/100 g, and its nutritional qualities are outstanding. Vegetarians use avocado in many recipes in their diet because it replenishes the lack of monounsaturated fatty acids necessary to maintain body tone and protect against anemia. The mineral composition of avocado pulp is valuable primarily for its high content of copper and iron, which, in turn, also protects against anemia and weakness. There is more potassium in avocados than in bananas, and along with it there is a lot of sodium, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium. As for vitamins, these are the “classics”: C, PP, almost the entire group B, and, of course, fat-soluble vitamins A and E. It is they, with regular consumption of avocados, that make the skin more elastic, moisturized and smooth. In addition, avocados contain organic salts and a certain amount of hormone-like biologically active substances that have antioxidant and rejuvenating properties.
Cosmetology, dietetics and medicine unanimously recognize avocados as not only effective in the fight against skin aging and other signs of aging of the body, but also an excellent assistant during menopause. The unique combination of fatty acids and antioxidant complex in avocado has also made it a powerful remedy against atherosclerosis, psoriasis and poisoning. Such versatility of the positive qualities of avocados has found application in the production of hair care products, face and body care products, and pharmaceuticals. But first of all, avocado is famous as a food product. And, even if botanists consider it a berry, culinary specialists still unanimously call it a vegetable. That doesn’t stop them from using the creamy avocado pulp, reminiscent in structure of good butter, in main courses, soups and salads, with meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, and even when preparing desserts, not to mention appetizers and aperitifs. Throughout, avocado fits perfectly into the overall flavor ensemble and expressively complements it with its own soft, creamy, herbaceous taste with nutty notes. It is no coincidence that they replace eggs and vegetable fats in vegetarian dishes, which makes their taste and beneficial properties even better compared to the traditional recipe. The only thing that needs to be taken into account is the contraindications to eating avocados. There are few of them, but they include, in particular, hypotension (avocado further lowers already low blood pressure) and individual intolerance to the chemical composition of the fruit (allergy to avocado manifests itself with severe symptoms and is quite dangerous). But in the vast majority of recipes and cases, avocado can only bring benefits and pleasure - provided that you know how to properly process, serve and eat it.
How to eat raw avocado
The main and, perhaps, the only rule governing the use of avocados is that these fruits are eaten raw, without any heat treatment. This is explained by two reasons at once. Firstly, in this way all the natural components of the fruit are preserved and the fragile bonds of vitamins and microelements are not destroyed. Secondly, avocado pulp contains a lot of tinin, and when heated, this substance acquires a bitter and tart taste - that is, a heated avocado simply becomes tasteless. Knowing this, you will not only avoid disappointment when you first try an alligator pear, but also make it much easier for you to prepare dishes with avocado, because it does not need to be cooked for a long time. And so that the monotonous absorption of raw vegetable pulp, even if it tastes very pleasant, does not get boring, take into account the following recipes and examples of how to eat avocado raw: 
- Raw avocado - sliced. This is a basic way to peel an avocado and prepare it for eating or using in other, more complex recipes. Rinse the whole fruit in cool water, use a sharp knife to cut along the perimeter, around the seed. Take one half with each hand and slightly turn them in opposite directions, as if twisting them relative to the core. After such manipulations, the halves of a ripe avocado are easily separated from each other, and the pit remains in one of the parts. It is easily removed with a spoon or the tip of a knife. Now you can use the same spoon to scoop out the pulp from the leathery “cup” or remove the skin and cut the pulp into cubes. If you choose the second option, then put the chopped avocado in a salad bowl, sprinkle with natural soy sauce and enjoy the taste of a simple, healthy snack that is loved by many.
- Avocado paste for spreading on fresh bread, toast, biscuits, cookies and anything else your taste dictates. The easiest way is to scoop the pulp out of half a cut avocado with a spoon and spread it on bread. But you can complicate the pasta recipe and make it more refined and tasty. To do this, take one ripe medium-sized avocado, 2 cloves of garlic, juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of natural unsweetened yogurt, 100 grams of tofu cheese (can be replaced with soft cottage cheese or feta), a pinch of salt. Peel the avocado and puree the pulp using a fork in a deep salad bowl. In another salad bowl, mash tofu or cottage cheese and mix thoroughly with avocado. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Chop the garlic and add it to the avocado cottage cheese along with salt and yogurt. Stir the paste until smooth and transfer to a jar with a lid. It can be stored in the refrigerator for several days, served with crispbread or any other bread of your choice.
- Salad with shrimp and avocado. Take 4 medium-sized avocados, 125 grams of peeled shrimp, 6 tablespoons of low-fat sour cream or plain yogurt, the zest of one lemon, a pinch of salt, ground pepper and coriander. Peel the avocado and cut the flesh into cubes. Boil shrimp in salted water until tender. Mix sour cream or yogurt with finely grated zest, pepper and coriander. Place the avocado in a salad bowl, pour in lemon juice, place shrimp on top, and stir. Pour over the sauce. You can diversify the salad by carefully removing the pulp from the avocado skin to keep the skin halves in the shape of boats. Use them instead of portioned salad bowls, forming and serving the salad directly in them. And in general, it’s easy to add variety to avocado salads: they are perfectly complemented by any seafood, chicken, meat, crab sticks, fish, cucumber and/or cheese.
- Avocado puree soup– served cold, that is, it is primarily a summer dish. A great alternative to boring okroshka! You will need 1 ripe large avocado, 1 onion, 700 ml of vegetable broth, a bunch of cilantro, a bunch of mint, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and wine vinegar. In addition, you will need 1 lime, 4 tablespoons of sour cream and a pinch of salt and ground pepper. Peel the avocado, chop the pulp as desired and place in a large blender bowl, pour over lemon juice. Peel the onion and garlic and chop in any convenient way. Wash the greens and chop finely, but leave a few sprigs of cilantro and mint to decorate the dish. Add onion, garlic, herbs to a blender, pour in half the broth and puree. After this, add soy sauce and vinegar, all the remaining broth and mix again in the blender. Add salt and pepper, cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. Meanwhile, squeeze the juice from the lime and mix it with sour cream or yogurt. Place a tablespoon of lime-sour cream dressing on the bottom of serving bowls, pour in the soup and garnish with mint and cilantro. The consistency of the soup can be adjusted by diluting it with cold milk until it becomes thinner.
- Guacamole- a classic use of avocado in cooking, the oldest recipe for Mexican sauce. Take two ripe avocados, 1 large fleshy tomato, 1 chili pepper, half an onion, a pinch of chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Peel the avocado and mash the pulp into a puree in a deep bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Remove the seeds from the chili pepper and chop the pod as finely as possible. Peel and chop the onion too. Place the onion, chili and cilantro in a bowl with the avocado, add salt and stir. Then chop the tomato along with the skin and add to the sauce, stir again. Guacamole is served as a sauce for Mexican dishes, snacks with bread and chips, especially corn chips. The finished sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Rules for eating raw avocado
You've probably noticed that literally every recipe with avocado uses lemon juice. Such a coincidence cannot be accidental - lemon juice is really necessary as an oxidizing agent, without which avocado pulp in the open air quickly loses its fresh light green hue, darkens and looks unattractive. Those who are not familiar with this subtlety often wonder why their dishes with raw avocado do not look as beautiful as in the illustrations of cookbooks and the media. Want to know a few more secrets to successfully eating raw avocados? Please:
- Before purchasing, when choosing an avocado, avoid both unripe and overripe fruits. The first ones are too hard and tasteless, the second ones spoil quickly (they can be easily identified by the softness of the peel and the fact that the bone dangles inside when the fruit is shaken). The skin of a ripe avocado gives way when pressed lightly, but the fruit retains its shape.
- If you mistakenly buy an unripe avocado, place it in a cool, dark place for a couple of days until it ripens completely. For the same reason, you can specifically buy slightly unripe avocados if you plan to store them.
- The ripening process is noticeably accelerated if you place an apple or banana next to the avocado.
- It is generally accepted that avocado varieties with skins covered with pronounced pimples are much tastier than smooth-skinned varieties.
- Only fairly ripe and soft fruits are suitable for eating raw avocados, so do not buy avocados for future use if possible.
- Even after treating with lemon juice, the avocado darkens, although more slowly. Therefore, peeling and cutting it should be the last thing among other ingredients of a complex dish.
- Professional chefs never use a knife with a metal blade to cut an avocado. When in contact with metal, oxidation processes accelerate, so it is better to use a plastic, wooden spoon, ceramic knife, etc.
- Avocado pulp can be frozen by completely peeling and pitting the fruit, then mashing it with a fork and placing it in an airtight container in the freezer. But only ripe avocados can be frozen; unripe fruits cannot be frozen.
- Due to the calorie content and high fat content, avocados should be consumed in moderation: optimally a couple of pieces per week. In this case, you can eat one half and put the other half in the refrigerator, be sure to wrap it in cling film to insulate it from air.
- If you are definitely not going to use the entire fruit, do not remove part of the peel, which serves as its natural “packaging” when storing the avocado.