Nutrition Month: Savory and sweet ways to enjoy avocado
MANILA, Philippines — Avocado season has started, so you can now find it being sold in the market, supermarket, fruit stall, and even online. If you catch it at the perfect time, when it has just ripened, you will really enjoy eating its creamy, buttery flesh.
Tracing its roots to the Americas, it was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago.
What’s interesting to know is that, then and now, the avocado is prized for its fruit. Today, the avocado plant is cultivated in many countries with tropical and Mediterranean climates, including the Philippines, where the fruit grows bountifully at this time of the year all the way to August. In 2020, Mexico was recognized as the leading producer of avocados in the world, but tropical countries such as the Philippines are not lacking in supply of the fruit.
The avocado is a good source of fiber and loaded with monounsaturated fats (good fats). It is also low in total carbohydrates.
Its heart-friendly fats do not increase blood cholesterol, and the fruit itself contains no cholesterol. The avocado also contains Vitamins C, E and K, plus folate, potassium, magnesium, and carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin.
Many Filipinos just scoop the flesh off the avocado halves and blend it with sugar, milk and ice to make a rich and delicious Avocado Shake.
For those who like their avocado chunky as a refreshing dessert, they just either scoop the flesh with a spoon or cut it into cubes and mix with a little milk or cream, sugar and crushed ice.
Speaking of delightful desserts, culinary expert and teacher Chef Dorothy Ferreria has come up with a light and easy dessert called Avocado and Gelatin Salad.
It’s simply a variation of Fruit Salad, with the fruit cocktail being replaced with avocado. Make gelatin the regular way, cut into cubes, mix with avocado and evaporated milk and sweeten with condensed milk. Let it chill and then enjoy.
Another fresh idea that you can try with avocado is Avocado Graham Float. Yes, it’s like Mango Graham Float but with thinly sliced avocados instead of mangoes in between layers of Graham crackers and cream.
Avocado has also been made into specialty cakes, such as the Bulacan-based Cakes by Plain Housewife’s Avocado Cake.
The baker-owner, Lalaine Tenorio, uses vanilla chiffon cake layers, with avocado puree mixed into the Swiss meringue buttercream icing spread between cake layers. She covers the entire cake with the icing and pipes decor on top.
During last year’s harvest, Sebastian’s Ice Cream came up with an entire line of avocado ice cream offerings. These include Avocado Dream (pure avocado); Avocado Strawberry and Avocado Macchiato in pint; Avocado Almond Poppits (mini balls of ice cream coated with chocolate shell); Avocado Peanut Butter Dive Bar (popsicle) and Avocado Butter Cake Ice Cream Cake.
There are lots of other culinary applications for avocados, both sweet and savory. The Mexicans, for one, have their guacamole dip with avocado as the main ingredient. You just have to discover your favorite.
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